A Chance to Live
by Bongo MonkeysXP
Summary: After the battle with Voldemort, Harry is given another chance to go back and enjoy his teenage years in the 1970's, a chance to meet his parents, befriend a man who gave his life protecting him and a chance to just be Harry. But will Harry be able to complete the task assigned to him by fate? Eventual Slash HP/SS.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: So, this story has been buzzing about in my brain for a bit and I got some time to write it down, it has not been reviewed by a beta yet, so all feedback is much appreciated! It is DH- compliant but EWE.

Rated M for later chapters, for language and sexual content.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, I am a broke college student who just has fun with the characters while I should be studying.

This is slash, so if you don't like two boys getting down than I suggest you go elsewhere!

Summary: After the battle with Voldemort, Harry is given another chance to go back and enjoy his teenage years in the 1970's, a chance to meet his parents, befriend a man who gave his life protecting him and a chance to just be Harry. Eventual Slash HP/SS

_A Chance to Live_

Chapter One:

Harry sat in a small hidden alcove by the edge of the Great Lake that he had found sometime during the Triwizard tournament. It was all over. Sure, it would take some time for the Wizarding World to get back up on its feet, but for now they could celebrate the fact that Voldemort was dead. It had been an hour since his disarming spell had slain the Dark Lord and Harry had somehow managed to slip away from the crowd to find some time alone to breathe and come to terms with the fact that it was over.

Harry threw up a small ward around his area, just in case someone decided they wanted to go looking for him- he wasn't really in the mood to give up the few precious moments he had found to himself just yet. Hopefully everyone would be so busy celebrating and grieving they wouldn't come looking for him too soon.

Before Harry could start down the path of grieving, he sensed a movement out of the corner of his eye and whipped his head around to see a cloaked figure sitting in the same manner as him. Before his hand could even reach for his wand, a deep male voice emanated from beneath the hood.

"Don't bother, your magic won't work on me," the figure stated calmly, his voice somewhat familiar. "I'm not here to hurt you, I would just like to make you an offer," As if sensing Harry's skepticism the figure added with a light-hearted chuckle, "you may try to cast a spell on me if that would make you feel better".

Harry tried a jelly-leg hex upon the man, not really wanting to hurt him. Nothing happened. Harry could almost feel the man's smirk radiating from beneath the cloak.

"Who are you?" Harry inquired. He almost felt calm in the man's presence, but was sure he needed to keep his guard up; after all, this man had easily slipped through his ward.

"I have gone by different names in the past, but that is not the most important thing at the moment." The man took in a deep breath and said on the exhale "Harry James Potter, the young man who accepted death, died and then was allowed by the fates to live."

Harry's eyes bulged. "H-ho- how did you know that? I haven't told anyone that yet-" the cloaked figure held up his hand motioning for Harry to stop, he did so with a slight gulp.

"We don't have a lot of time. Harry, if you accept this offer, you will be able to meet and fall in love with your other half, befriend those who bore you, and have a chance to save the life of the man who has been keeping watch over you since your parent's death. If you decline, you will forget this encounter completely, and become moderately happy in the future years. You will make your way to head Auror, marry Ginny Weasley, and have children, though you will always have a nagging feeling that it is not the happiest you could have been."

"What's the offer?" The words seemed to move from his mouth of their own accord.

The figure rustled around in his robes and withdrew four small vials, a silver locket, and an envelope on which Harry could barely make out Dumbledore's name in the darkness. He laid them out in a line.

"You take this first potion," the man said gesturing to the vial furthest to the left of a light yellow color "it will de-age you to 15 years of age. This next dark green will modify aspects of your appearance until an appropriate time when they will be altered back. When the blue potion is poured into the locket along with the correct spell it will send us back to 1975," At the last statement, Harry's eyes widened, he had never heard of one being able to travel in such a large incrament, but the figure continued before he could voice his confusion, "This last one contains memories, those and the letter, are to convince Albus as to who you are and why you are there

"I could meet my mum and dad, but as teenagers?"

"Yes."

"Save a watchful man's life- is that referring to Snape?" The figure seemed to tense for a moment but then replied with an affirmative. Harry looked out onto the water. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything he did for me. I wish I could have known him better," Harry said wistfully as he gazed out onto the water.

"You can," was all that the figure said in reply.

There was a brief silence and all that could be heard was the light breeze flowing through the trees and the sounds of the small waves on the lake lapping at the shore.

"All sense and reason states that I should not trust a random cloaked figure who made their way through my ward and who is not affected by magic; yet I am getting the overwhelming feeling that I should trust you and your offers. Why?"

"I never said I was unaffected by magic- just yours. You trust me in the same way that I trust you, just as I cannot lie to you, or you to me. The reason itself is simple."

"Tell me," Harry said quickly, eager for answers. The stranger mumbled something about having to work on patience while lowering his hood and turning his face so he would be looking straight at Harry.

Harry could not help but let out a startled gasp, before him he saw brilliant green eyes, jet black messy hair and a lightning bolt shaped scare on a face identical to his own. He saw himself, aged nearly twenty years, smirking back at him.

"The younger version of myself took the deal," he began "mostly from curiosity but to also get away from the demands I knew I would have to face once I left the lakeside. I felt I wasn't ready to meet all that, but now..." His face seemed sad, yet hopeful. "If all goes to plan, then I think I can handle it."

"So I do go back in time?" Harry asked. The figure shook his head in negation.

"Not necessarily, but I hope you do. If you decline, I vanish, and everything happens as I said it would. However, if you accept, it could be so much more. Please do not ask for more information than what I have told you. One cannot lie to oneself and you already know too much."

Younger Harry gave a slow nod in understanding. "What happens if I say yes?"

Older Harry seemed to relax a bit and answered. "You take the potions I mentioned and we go to the summer of 1975 to meet with Albus about you attending Hogwarts. Then, the rest of the summer I will teach you the things you will need to know before you begin at Hogwarts."

Harry looked to his supposed future self with skepticism and bewilderment. He was filled with the desire to ask what sort of things he would need to know, but held his tongue in hopes that his questions would soon be answered. After all, if the man was who he claimed to be, wouldn't that cause problems, if he knew too much? Hermione's voice whispered through his mind "_Bad things have happened to wizards who messed with time, Harry."_

"If you are who you say you are," Harry said with a gesture of his hand around the vicinity, "wouldn't that cause a paradox?"

The figure didn't answer at first and looked as if he was choosing his next few words with extreme caution. "The fates felt, since you gave so much of yourself so full heartily, and at such a young age, that they would give you another chance for a bit of teenage normalcy. It would stretch the fabric of time too much if you regressed too far into early childhood, due to the fact that your memories need to remain with you. I know this is a lot to take in, and I wish I did not have to rush your decision, but I must urge you to make your choice very soon."

Harry looked into the pleading eyes of the older version of himself. "So if what you say is true? You are trying to sway your past self into making a decision you have already made?"

Older Harry seemed amused. "Basically."

"Do you regret the decision at all?" Harry asked of his older counterpart, who seemed to falter for a moment.

"I cannot lie to you, as I have told you. There were moments when I hated the future version of myself for not telling me everything that would have happened. But, with time, I too saw how I could not have been told that information. I had to discover it on my own. Overall, I do not regret my decision to go back into time to meet all those I wish I could have known better. In fact, I am thankful ever more so, especially if everything has gone to plan. I implore you not to ask of the plan, for knowledge of it now could risk your future happiness." The older Harry finished with a slight pleas in his tone toward the end.

"If we're traveling in time, why must we leave so soon?" Harry asked.

"The potion only allows us to travel in years, and in order for you to receive the correct training, we must leave now."

Harry looked at the three separate potions and gave a small, hesitant nod.

"The rules are simple. Do not let your foreknowledge be known, and do what is asked when the fates ask of it."

"That's it? Do I get to come back to this time?" Harry asked.

"Eventually," Older Harry responded, and Harry knew that it would be this older version of himself that would return and not his 17 year old self.

"It's worth it?" Harry asked for confirmation once more and received and affirming nod. Swallowing his Gryffindor courage, he opened his mouth to ask the one question he would never voice to his friends.

"Yes, I know which question you wish to ask, for I remember not wishing to voice it myself, but this is something you will need to learn on your own."

No more needed to be said for the moment. Any more questions and explanations would just lead them back to this point. Harry reached his hand out for the first vial and was not surprised to see his hand was trembling. How could it not? The older man dropped the first potion into his outstretched palm. Harry uncorked the bottle and downed the contents quickly before he had time to re-think.

Immediately, he could feel a buzzing in his brain and a slight tingling all over. The tingling began to burn and he felt his muscles contract, his bones seeming to pull in on themselves. He gasped loudly and felt a wave of nausea hit him forcefully in the stomach, and then it was over as soon as it had begun. It was slightly reminiscent of polyjuice.

"You're still you, just with your 15 year old body. You can still back out now…" the older man's voice cautioned.

Ignoring the man, Harry held his hand out and the second potion replaced the first.

"I must warn you that this one is going to suck even worse than the first, so you must be sure of your choice."

Harry gazed at the dark vial. What was he doing? He was going to go back in time. He would meet his parents and get to judge them on his own terms. He would get time away from the hounding press, time to recover, time for quiet, where no one expected great and wondrous things, time to help save a man who was one of the bravest he had ever met, a chance to thank him. A time to just be Harry.

He felt a wave of calm and clarity wash over him. This was the correct path for him to take, he was sure. He downed the liquid.

It was as if the potion knew the exact second the last drop had gone down his throat, for when that moment arrived, Harry felt a burning begin in his stomach that than quickly branched out to his extremities. His insides were churning; muscles twitching and twisting, the blood in his veins boiled then froze several times while he felt his bones constrict and resize. Harry could feel his pores burn as if someone had places a giant band-aid on every inch and ripped the top layer of his skin off, leaving the new layer of skin raw. The pain faded and darkness surrounded him.

"Evannnnn, can you hear me?" There was something poking his side. The victim of said poking opened his eyes to see a man with emerald green eyes and jet-black hair crouched beside him, poking him with a stick. The man looked slightly relieved that he had opened his eyes.

"Who's Evan?" The victim of the poking asked. Surprised to find that he was curled on the ground, the boy made his way to a standing position to face the man that has awoken him, and was more than a bit confused when it seemed that this older version of himself seemed a bit taller than he had moments ago.

"While in this form, your name is Evan Michaels. It is important to remember that, but should be easy since that is the only name I will be calling you for the next couple of months," The older version said with a grin.

"What happened? I remember taking the potion and everything hurting like a-"

"The potion knocked you out for a couple of seconds to complete it's... alterations" older Harry interrupted.

"Ahhh." Harry went to run a hand through his hair and was surprised when his fingers met softer hair. He raised his head in question.

"I will answer your questions but we must go," Harry, or well, Evan, nodded and the older version closed his eyes and looked to be thinking about something with great concentration and when his eyes were opened, they were bright blue eyes, softer looking auburn hair and tanner skin. The man gave Evan the letter and vial of pensieve memories to pocket, and with great care, poured the last bottle into the tiny hole at the top of the hourglass shaped locket, all the while, chanting something foreign.

When he was finished, he tapped the necklace lightly with his wand twice, than handed it to Evan.

"Never, under any circumstance, remove this from your person," Older Harry said as he passed the necklace to him. Evan took hold of the necklace felt some old teenage rebellion rise up.

"Did you?" He asked before he could stop himself. Older Harry smirked and reached under his robe to produce an exact copy of the locket Evan held now.

"Okay, then" Harry said, and placing the locket over his head, as he did so, he felt his magic make some sort of connection with the necklace.

"Here we go then," Older Harry put his right hand on Evan's left shoulder and Evan mirrored his image. A spell was spoken and light enveloped the two.

"Where are we?" Evan asked as he looked around. He was standing in space that was pure white. There was no way to describe it, it showed no shadows nor gave any indications of the size or depth of the space they were in.

Older Harry made a grimace. "It appears that they want to talk to us before we go back."

"More than talk," A voice said from behind them. Evan whipped around his head around to see three women, walking towards the two of them. The three seemed to be in their mid 30's.

The shortest one, who had spoken, had incredibly straight black hair that made Harry's jet-black look light. It hung right at the center of her back and stopped- as if it wouldn't dare move even a centimeter past its intended length. The bangs that framed her angular face acted in the same manner. The woman had a certain aura that exuded a firm controlling nature. The woman in the middle had brown hair done up in plaits, which seem to weave around the top of her head, leaving a round jovial face. The last woman was just as tall as the second, her heart shaped face framed by various shades of blonde, splaying fiercely every which way, giving Harry the impression that it could not be tamed by any hairdresser alive.

All three were dressed casually in muggle jeans and flowing tops.

"We also need to lay down some ground work that will ensure your future training will be easier to conduct" the auburn haired woman added.

"Or we could just let him go to meet the headmaster with no training and ruin the fabric of time I have worked so hard on," the blonde added dryly.

"Evan, I'd like you to meet the three Fates. Atropos," Older Harry said, gesturing to the lady with black hair. "Clotho," a gesture to the lady with plated hair, "and Lachesis" he said with a nod to the last one.

Evan tried not to look as weirded out as he felt. "Err, hello, it's nice to meet you all." Atropos nodded stiffly, Clotho smiled warmly and Lachesis seemed to be holding back a smirk. Evan turned back to the older version of himself.

"If you are who you say you are, than why did you seems surprised to see them?"

"Because you are not to remember exactly what happens here Harry Potter," Lachesis stated calmly in a voice that reminded Harry of Luna Lovegood, "you will only remember vaguely meeting with us, so you will be able to recognize us in these forms when we meet later in the physical world. You are mainly here so we may prepare you with abilities and materials to complete your upcoming tasks. Not to mentions so you can save your love."

The older version of Harry perked up at this. "He makes it? Did I do as told- was I able to save him?" he asked breathlessly.

"Yes, when you return to your timeline, Severus will be in his stasis, waiting to be awoken and nursed back to health," Clotho said warmly.

Older Harry let out a breath and then smiled with an ability that younger Harry didn't even know he had. Then the name caught up with him.

"Snape?" he choked out.

Older Harry realized now as well that the names of his precious lover had been spoken aloud to his foolish younger self. "He cannot know that!" Older Harry said gesturing to his younger self.

"The person we're risking this for is Snape?" Evan said incredulously.

Lachesis shook her head in amusement. "Your younger self will not remember that. He shall leave here only with the knowledge that when he goes to the intended time, he will find his love and he also has a chance to save an incredibly brave man."

"But Snape loved Mum, that's why, he..." younger Harry started.

"Snape did love your mother- in a completely platonic way, " Atropos said, joining the conversation.

"However, we must give you your gifts and send you on your way," Lachesis said, producing three books from Merlin-knows-where and placing them in a bag that mirrored the one that Older Harry had taken the potions from. "You will need these on your journey," she said as she handed him the bag.

Clotho came right up to Harry and smiled. "Hold out your hand!" Harry did so with somewhat of a blush on his face. It was slightly unnerving having someone you just met standing so close to you.

Clotho took his hand in hers and scrunched her face in concentration, after what seemed like ages, she opened them once more and smiled. "I have weaved the abilities that were not allowed to be present back into your thread," she said simply and walked back to her sisters.

Atopos stepped towards the two of them, then without a warning, she hugged younger Harry, then older Harry. "You will meet us again. Thank you for accepting me and what I have to do for the world." She said looking at the younger version. Then looking at the older man, she gave him a small smile "How could I not give you your well earned time with him?" she said and stepped back to join her sisters. The three looked proudly over their creation.

The whiteness began to fade to dark and Harry felt himself grow sleepy. His eyes closed as he heard a soft voice.

"Remember Harry, everyone has a destiny, we give you your abilities, but only you can choose what to do with them."

And with that, Evan slipped into a deep sleep.

_Tbc…_

So I know it is short, but any comments on spelling errors or a review are much appreciated!

Thanks for reading.

-BongoMonkeys


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Uh… So WOW! I am so excited! I honestly did not expect any reviews, or alerts or nothin'! I was honestly just putting this story out because it had been swimming around in my brain and desperately needed release so I started planning it out!

Nevertheless, I am thankful to all your kind words and thankful to all who have read my story!

Unfortunately, since I none of the chapters are written, it will take awhile to update. I know I prefer longer chapters to short ones, and I feel like 3,000 words is a bit on the short side, but if you all would like shorter chapters but faster updates I would be willing to do so. Or if you want longer chapters spaced out I can still do that! Just let me know in a review or continue to just be a lurker . Lord knows, I've certainly done both.

Anywho, enough of my blabbering of my thanks and on with the story.

**Disclaimer: ** I do not own Harry Potter, I just like having fun with the characters and their world.

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter Two**

Evan awoke with a start in a large abandoned looking field. There was uneven grass of varying shades of green, with random bunches of flowers emerging from the dirt and large trees scattered about. Had Evan not been freaking out internally because he had no recollection of where he was or how he got there, he would have said that the field was a sort of place he would like to go and day dream in.

"Ya, just going to sit there are all day, Evan?" a voice asked with a hint of humor somewhere to his right. Turning his head to the source of the noise, Evan's gaze came across a man who he could have sworn he had seen before. The man wore a plain black robe with jeans and a T-shirt peeking out from underneath. He had a kind face that looked sad yet full of anticipation that was apparent in his cool blue eyes. His auburn hair had a soft wave to it and was, at that moment, being lightly teased by the soft breeze.

"It's okay, time travel is a bit disorienting," the older man said in reply to what Evan could only assume was a perplexed look upon his own features. Evan shook his head to clear his thoughts and noticed an unfamiliar lack of weight on his face.

"What happened to my glasses?"

"You won't need them here." The stranger his- uncle, no but he's not though. The man's eyes narrowed suspiciously while he looked around, as if he was searching for something in the distance. "Come on, we need to get inside the wards," he said as he held out a hand to help Evan up.

Evan took the offered hand and was pulled to a standing position, and followed after the quick moving figure ahead of him. As Evan followed the figure, a number of questions began to form in his head. Where were they? When were they? Where were they headed? After walking at a brisk pace for a couple of minutes the man stopped and turned to look back at Evan.

Evan looked ahead of him and saw a dirt path ahead that was so narrow that only two people could comfortably walk down. It led to a small brick wall with a wooden gate guarding a small two story stone cottage covered in green vines. At the end of the path was a cottage with wooden double doors. On either side of the door was a window paired with a box of dirt that was clearly begging for some greenery.

"Can you see it?"

Evan nodded in confirmation and his counterpart looked slightly perplexed but as soon as Evan saw the emotion it was replaced with a calm indifferent expression. The two carried on towards the cottage and were soon at the front door. The older man seemed to be slightly comforted as he reached for the door knob.

"Welcome home," the older man said with a smile as he opened the double doors and motioned for Evan to step inside. Evan crossed the threshold and was greeted by a small foyer. Looking further into the house he saw a door and a set of staircases leading to the second floor on his left. To his right, he saw a small sitting area painted in a cool blue-green with light wooden bookcases, a grey stone fireplace and a small dark coffee table surrounded by a deep green couch and two similarly colored arm chairs.

"To the left is the study and to your right is the sitting area," he said indicating to both. "On the other side of the sitting area is the kitchen, which leads to the backyard. When you go upstairs, the room to your left is yours and right across it is mine. Now, how would you like to get some sleep before we look over our plans for getting you into Hogwarts?"

Evan had not realized how tired he was until it had been mentioned. "That does sound pretty good."

The other man nodded and motioned for Evan to follow him up the stairs. Evan followed as the older man went up the stairs and went down the hall a bit and opened the third door on the left. The room was moderately sized with a double bed in the left hand corner, a desk on the opposite wall that was placed in front of a window.

"Why don't you get some sleep?"

Evan nodded as he made his way over to the bed. He heard some muttering as the room got darker and he collapsed onto the bed and into a deep slumber.

_Waking up in unfamiliar areas seems to be a pattern today, _Evan thought as he opened his eyes and looked around the room he was in. When he had first arrived he had only noticed the bed and the desk. Looking diagonally from the desk he saw a small wardrobe with a note that looked to be held up by invisible tape or the like. Shuffling across the smooth wooden floor while rubbing the sleep form his eyes Evan made his way over to the note on the wardrobe.

_Evan,_

_I hope you are feeling refreshed after your nap__. Inside__ the wardrobe is clothing in your size. If you wish to shower the bathroom is in the room next room over. Come on down when finished and we'll have some lunch and discuss matters._

Taking the advice from the note, Evan opened the wardrobe and grabbed a shirt, boxers and a pair of jeans and sought out the bathroom to take a much needed shower.

Making his way down the stairs after the shower, Evan noticed that the photo frames along the wall of the staircase held no photos. Raising an eyebrow at the lack of photographs he shook off oddness of it. He had seen some modern art book, who was he to judge?

He must have made some noise as he was coming down the stairs for a now familiar voice called from somewhere towards the back of the house "Evan, I'm in the kitchen."

Following the sound of the voice, Evan turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs, walked past the sitting area and a door, which he assumed led to another room, and shuffled through an empty doorway and into the kitchen.

The first thought he had was that it was HUGE. It was done up in shades of whites and creams with soft looking curtains and giant windows which were allowing a soft breeze to come in. On the wall furthest from him were cabinets, a stove and a sink with a window just above, so one could wash the dishes while looking out at what Evan assumed was the backyard. The older man, who he was beginning to remember more about, was situated between the sink and an island in the middle of the kitchen that could have easily sat eight people. Around the island were light oak wooden stools so someone could sit and work there, or talk to whoever was preparing food at the time.

As Evan walked in more, he noticed to his left a rectangular table with a booth on one side and chairs on the other. The kitchen was large enough, that two people could easily walk in between the place where the chairs met the stools. The whole place made Evan feel like a cooking show was about to take place in it.

"Take a seat," the man said, gesturing to a stool. He grabbed a cutting board and a knife from somewhere and began chopping up some carrots. Evan grabbed a stool, which he was happy to say was much more comfortable than it looked, and watched the man cut up the carrots. The man slid some of the carrots into a bowl and set his knife down. He passed a glass bowl filled with fresh snap peas on it towards Evan.

"So eat some of these and then questions?" he asked with a nod, receiving one in return.

Evan grabbed one and began to munch on the green vegetable. It was light and crisp and had a fresh taste. Seeming satisfied that Evan was eating the man went back to his chore of chopping carrots. After eating a couple of snap peas, Evan cleared his throat.

"So…" he started off. A yes with a smirk and a raised eyebrow was the only response he got as the older man placed some beef into the bottom of a giant pan and began to fill it with water from the sink. After it was probably a quarter of the way full, he set it onto the stove to boil. He grabbed two glasses of water from a cabinet and came to sit next to Evan on the island.

"Where did those come from?" This time a genuine smile graced the features of the older man's face.

"That cabinet in the corner is charmed to act like a refrigerator. I know you aren't particularly fond of water but the travel has probably dehydrated you a bit, so you should at least drink a glass before you have anything else," the older man said as he sipped his own water. "I love how that's your first question after being taken here, though," he said with a chuckle.

"You said you were me, so don't you remember this?" Evan said, and then felt silly for not remembering the talk they had at the lake which seemed so recent.

The older man grimaced slightly than began slowly as if he was trying to work out the problem himself. "I remember vaguely. I don't remember everything from this summer, just the important things."

"Right. So we are the same person then?" A nod in affirmation was his reply. "How can that be possible though? Wouldn't it hurt the fabric of time? Or cause—what is it called—err uh a paradox?"

"It is a paradox, but the fates have changed it enough, so that I will only be here with you for this summer only, to train you, but then I have to go back."

"What kind of training?"

"School subjects, physical, mental and, Evan this is the most important one, Occlumency. I cannot stress how important it is for us to work hard at it this summer." His tone was grave enough that Evan had the urge to gulp.

"But how can we practice magic with the ministry? And wasn't our magic ineffective against each other?"

"The wards here will protect you from the ministry. Also, the correct paperwork has been filled, with the . office at the ministry."

"W.L.T? What's that?" Evan asked, interrupting.

"Wizards Lost in Time office. They are even more secret and tight-lipped than the Unspeakables. In fact the only people who can see the department are," he said as he listed them off on his fingers, "the minister himself, or those who have been somehow thrown through time, through a spell or potion and the few who run the office or are in need of their help. They usually deal with mishaps. But you are still 17, an adult so you can use magic all you like."

There was a silence as the two sipped at their water and Evan ate another snap pea.

"I know this may sound strange… but I know my name is not Evan, but that is all I can think of myself as. Not to mention I can't even think of your name either even though I know it is the same as mine."

"That was done one purpose by the fates. Oh! Sorry!" the older man exclaimed as if he had just remembered something extremely important. "In this time I will be posing as your Uncle Evan, we have the same name so you call me 'Michael' playing off of our last name."

"Won't people be suspicious that we have the same name?" Evan asked.

"Not particularly," Michael said with a slight shake of his head. "You can just say that your mother and I were very close so she named you after me. People generally don't question family names." There was a pause before Michael began again. "The reason you are not able to think of your natural birth name, is that it is not safe here, even for you to think it."

"That makes sense I suppose."

"No, Evan it is extremely important. If you are to go to school with your parents and their classmates it is imperative that no one learns who you really are. You can not affect the future and if they learned who you are…"

"Is that why I must train in Occlumency?"

"Yes. Don't worry it should come a bit with a greater ease than last time," Michael said with a knowing grin. Evan shared the look.

"So when and where are we?" Evan asked looking around, as if the kitchen could provide the answers for him.

"It is May 4th 1975. You've been sleeping for almost two days." At Evan's panicking expression, Michael added on reassuringly, "Don't worry, it was just the time travel and potions to change your appearance, your body needed time to adjust. We are in your, well, technically 'our' home. Valerian Cottage. The wards have made it unplottable, but the area is in East Sussex." He got up to stir the pot with the meat and water.

"If the school year starts in September, why did we have to get here so early? Are we really going to need to train for that long? I thought this was supposed to be a time to relax!" Evan said rapidly as his brain caught up with his actions.

Michael chuckled at Evan's vigorous line of questions. "Yes, while we are here, there will be a time to relax but, by living here in this time, you will not be used as a tool of war. Nor will you be a crucial part to this part of the war. You will help but it is not for you to be a part of. Just what normal teenagers have to deal with in wartime, if that makes sense."

"Doesn't sound like I'm getting the good end of the deal," Evan mumbled as he grabbed another snap pea. The next moment he felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked into kind blue eyes.

"Being a teenager will always include having roller coaster emotions. But in this time you will be able to help those in the war, meet your parents, find things you love to do and help someone from a terrible fate." Michael squeezed his shoulder and went back to cooking.

"Snape?" Evan watched as Michael tensed slightly, or maybe it was his imagination, and he nodded. "I feel like I never actually knew the man. I know I owe him my life. How can we help him?" Evan asked. He truly did feel for the man who worked so hard and like him, never really got to live for himself. Always at the mercy of someone else.

Michael shook his head and turned to face Evan. "I cannot tell you the answer to those questions directly. But by studying your books from The Fates you will be able to come up with ways to do that. I'm here to guide you."

Evan nodded. While he understood the reasoning behind his older self not being able to tell him things, he still didn't like it, but it would be silly to argue.

"The books from The Fates? I remember going somewhere…" Evan said trailing off trying to remember the encounter he knew he had with three women, but it was all a bit hazy. He knew he had some books, but where had they gone?

"I left your bag with the books on the desk in your room," Michael said and Evan didn't know if he had said the last part aloud or if his face was just that easily read by his older half.

"Here is our training schedule by the way." Evan watched as Michael waved his hand and a list on parchment sailed over to him.

"Wandless magic?" Evan asked with a smirk as he accepted the parchment in his hands.

"You'll learn soon enough,"

Evan looked down at the list, gaped and then looked back over at Michael and then read the list over again just to make sure he had read it correctly.

_**Training Schedule- Monday- Saturday**_

_**6:30 AM- Wake up, have light snack**_

_**6:45 AM- Morning Jog (3 Miles)**_

_**7:30 AM- **__**Meditation**_

_**8:30 AM- Shower**_

_**8:45 AM- Breakfast and Update on Current Events**_

_**9:15 AM- Wizarding Manner Lessons**_

_**10 AM- Occlumency Lessons**_

_**12 PM- Lunch**_

_**1 PM- Ancient **__**Ruins**_

_**2 PM- Artihmancy**_

_**3 PM- Potion Studies**_

_**4 PM- Wandless Training**_

_**5 PM- Free Research Time**_

_**6 PM- Start Dinner Prep and eat**_

"You've got to be joking!" Evan exclaimed. "Study for three straight hours!"

"Of course not!" Michael said indignantly. "You will only study each subject for forty-five minutes and take fifteen breaks. It helps learning if you get up and move every so often," he finished very matter-of-factly as he gave another stir to the pot and added some vegetables in. He walked back over to the island and sat next to Evan.

"Jogging is to keep you in physical shape, meditation will help you be able to clear your mind and keep a level head, which will be essential when you are in school, not to mention it will be beneficial to your occlumency training.

The wizarding manners lessons are because you will be posing as someone raised in the wizarding world. Some actions that have been part of your mannerisms for the last 17 years of your life will be things that children who grew up in the wizarding world would not exhibit."

"If they are so noticeable, why does no one mention anything about it?" Evan inquired.

"It's not something that is really overtly stated, but wizards that care about pureblood traditions can tell if someone was not raised in the wizarding world within in the first couple of minutes of conversation. Those who truly care, who have a keen eye, those who pay attention to details can pick out muggle raised people in a crowd." Michael said with almost Snape like precision on the last sentence.

"You've got to be joking," Evan said incredulously, feeling his eyes bulge.

Michael gave a nod. "Sometimes gestures are sort of like… non-verbal colloquialism. Like would you know what this gesture means?" Michael asked as he took his right hand and bent his ring finger down and covered the nail with his thumb while moving it toward his chest." Evan shook his head and Michael continued. "This gesture with the right hand moving towards your chest usually indicates to someone while speaking that you agree with what the person is saying but, if you sweep away from the chest it displays disagreement." Michael finished by completing said gesture.

"I've never really noticed anyone do that before," Evan said with a shake of his head.

"It is the little things that go unnoticed by newcomers, but what natives notice is lacking."

"Right, so I understand the first couple of items, and the occlumency, but the school subjects?"

"If you are to be able to attend Hogwarts and complete your other tasks you will need to know your subjects well. You must also know what level you are to perform them at, so as to not arise suspicion," Michael explained as he got back up to check on his stew.

Evan looked at the list and held back a groan. He understood the need behind all the items on the list and was thankful that Michael had explained the reasoning behind all the activities. It made him feel like they were at least… equals. Or something like that.

A steaming bowl of delicious smelling beef vegetable soup was placed before him. A plate of bread was ahead of him in his peripheral vision.

"Eat up now. I'm sure you are hungry."

With that Evan began to eat the soup ignoring the thought that plagued his mind. _Exactly what have I signed myself up for?_

_Tbc…  
_

* * *

Right so there is Chapter Two! I hope you guys liked it, leave me a review if you like to let me know what you thought, or if you noticed any errors.

-BongoMonkeys


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Heyyy everyone! Sorry about the delayed update, I had finals at my University and that paired with moving right after was no picnic. But here is the next installment, I plan to update a bit more regularly now that summer is here.

A side note that makes me a bit ashamed to admit, but I know a bunch of you is not reviewing! This makes me sad, the reviews make me feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, without them I am sad and cold. So review to make this poor writer happy? Please ?

I know it seems the story is moving a bit slow, but I promise it will pick up soon! 'Evan' will hopefully meet some very familiar friends in the next chapter :)

Also much thanks goes out to my new beta, Loren, for putting up with my errors! Also, to Ginji, for helping with stylistic issues.

**Disclaimer:** Nope, still don't own these characters.

_A Chance to Live _

**Chapter Three**

"Explain to me again, why some ingredients are to be air dried, with no use of magic in the growing or picking process?" Evan Michaels was asked by his Uncle who bore the same name.

"Because…" Evan was cut off from his train of thought as he received a sharp look from his Uncle. "Sorry, I forgot." Evan said berating himself for the use of the word.

"What rule was it?" His uncle questioned as he leaned back in his chair.

Evan gave a sigh. He looked about before answering. He and Michael were currently sitting at an old white iron circular table in the back garden of Valerian cottage. He heard the sound of someone tapping a nail against the glass covering of the table. He continued to answer the question that was asked of him.

"Wizards do try not to start sentences with a word like 'because', due to the fact that they feel it makes one's speech sound less educated and sloppy. It is however, alright to use when explaining reasoning in a sentence." This was one of the first rules they had gone over in mannerisms classes. Today was May 19, he was just starting his third week in 1975 at Valerian and it had proved to be an extremely arduous two weeks since his arrival. He was just beginning to be able to handle to the rigid training schedule his uncle had set up for him.

The morning jog had proved to show that, while he was not in as good of shape as his older counterpart, it seemed being on the run from Death Eaters all year had given him an okay stamina but there was still room for improvement. While Evan had felt awfully silly doing morning meditations, he had to admit that it was helping with nightmares and keeping a calm persona in general. While they had not practiced Occlumency with wands yet, the meditation was a key factor in learning how to create a wall around his thoughts that Michael assured him would be useful.

The three books that the fates had entrusted him with proved to be interesting but difficult to read. The first one was about all different species of snakes, the second an introduction to medicinal magic and the last was a book of essays about the relationship of poisons to antidotes. Now Evan was not the brightest crayon in the box, but even he could tell that these would prove helpful if he wanted to save Snape from the brutal death from Nagini's poisonous fangs. He still didn't understand half of what some of them said; albeit the potion essays were getting easier to read the more he studied the properties with Michael.

"Back to the original question, some ingredients such as: belladonna, valerian, or dried petals of certain flowers, must be air dried with no magic because they tend to soak up residual magic and the residual magic on the ingredients could affect your potion. While the properties of some more common herbs, such as sage or thyme, can be enhanced by certain spells in the growing and drying process."

"Well done," Michael said with a nod of affirmation. "Why is it important for ingredients to be sliced with precision?"

"If some ingredients are even just a centimeter off in thickness it can imbalance the potion. The imbalance can hinder the efficacy of the potion."

Evan squirmed slightly in his chair. Michael turned his face towards him and had a small smirk.

"Michael…" Evan said as he shifted in his seat again, agitated by something.

"Yes, Evan."

"Not that I haven't enjoyed all of this theory work but…" Evan tried to hold in his patience but it got the better of him and he shot out of his chair and began pacing on the white wooden deck.

"But…" Michael said with a knowing smirk.

"But we haven't done any practical work at all!" Evan said throwing his hands in the air. "And I actually want to do something. Can't we at least make a potion or can't you _try_ to use occlumency on me and I think I've gotten all the theoretical I can at this point! Heck you even don't want me using my wand!"

"Evan, we talked about it—you know you really shouldn't use it—we don't know if Voldemort can tell if his wand has a brother yet. He might seek us out then."

"But how will I be able to attend classes or anything!"

"Get a new wand of course." Michael said patiently.

"Oh." Evan said and felt silly for not seeing the obvious earlier. It had been an interesting two weeks without a wand. He had assumed that not using a wand was mostly a way to ensure that he was taking to wandless magic. Which was proving to be extremely difficult; the only thing he had managed to do wandlessly was summoning objects and some very minor household charms.

Michael looked around the peaceful garden as if in deep thought, and that's when Evan felt it. There was a slight prodding at his thoughts, as if something was trying to sneak its way in slowly and discreetly without drawing attention to itself. Taking a mental breath Evan slowly began constructing a wall protecting his actual thoughts from the intrusion. He then started to try and make it seem to the intruder that he was completely oblivious to the attack on his mind. In his mind he focused on letting the only thought that could be accessed was that he was confused by his Uncle's silence and growing impatient from it.

Then the presence slipped its way back out again and Michael turned to him and gave him a proud smile.

"Well done. It only took you 10 seconds before you realized what had happened."

"What does that mean?" Evan asked.

"It means you are ready for Diagon Alley."

* * *

It turned out they were not able to make it to Diagon Alley until a week and a half later. Michael had wanted to make sure that he could keep Occlumency shields up for at least two hours without it tiring him out and that had taken a week. Once he had completed that, he needed to learn how to shield how magically strong he was which when paired with Occlumency shields was not as large of a task. With all the meditation they had been doing, he had learned a way to slip his magical strength behind the shields as well.

Now here they were, walking towards Ollivander's. Diagon certainly wasn't as dark as it had been during the height of Voldemort's second reign but there was an overwhelming amount of suspicion in the air. Evan figured that complete disloyalty and fear had not broken out yet at this point in time. After all from what he could understand from their morning discussion of the paper was that Voldemort was keeping to recruiting at the moment with only slightly odd occurrences here and there. Nothing that would freak the general public out too much but enough that those who were smart were not letting their guard down.

"I don't understand though…" Evan mused out loud, though quietly enough for no one around him to hear exactly what he was saying, "if we are the same person, won't the wand you're using now, be the wand I'm about to get?"

"I don't use a wand too often anymore, and not the one you may receive," Michael said as he opened the door to Ollivander's.

Seeing how cryptic the answer was and knowing he wouldn't get any more information out of the older man, Evan dropped the conversation and followed his Uncle into the shop.

The little bell tinkled above the door as Evan closed it behind him. Ollivander came from the back of the shop and smiled at the two of them from behind the counter.

"Good day, sirs," Ollivander said with what Evan would have written off as a random sweeping hand gesture before, but now he knew that the way Ollivander's right hand started hovering in the air above his shoulder area, sweeping to precisely at his eyes and then out to his right, before coming to rest at his side again, was actually a traditional way to greet a new individual or was a friendly greeting to someone you had not seen in a long time.

"Good afternoon," Evan replied at the same time as his uncle and repeated the gesture with him. To show equality and good faith for the transaction.

"How may I help you today?" Ollivander asked as he made his way around the counter, subtly sizing the two of them up.

"My nephew has recently come into my charge and his old wand was broken in the circumstances that lead him to my care," Michael said smoothly.

"Are you comfortable with the standard measuring process?" Ollivander asked whimsically as he walked over to Evan.

"That is fine," Evan replied, having been through the measurement before, he strengthened his Occlumency shields just in case Ollivander did try to poke in his mind for information regarding to his wand, what kind he had used before and what kind of magic he was strong in. Evan did his best to project a general understanding of most things and a wish for privacy. The strength of the Occlumency shields was done more so Ollivander would not stumble on any information accidentally. After all, it would not be good for him to know that he had been the master of the elder wand recently.

It was odd feeling Ollivander gently pushing for information on his magic and Evan got the distinct feeling that Ollivander had no idea whatsoever that he had Occlumency shields up.

Ollivander stepped back from him and began muttering to himself as he walked behind the counter and came back with a couple of boxes.

Fifteen minutes later he and Michael were paying for his new wand, a thirteen inch wand with a dragon core and silver lime wood, after which they walked out the door of the shop.

"What now?" Evan asked Michael.

"We go buy the current fourth year texts," Michael said as he led them to Flourish and Botts. Evan raised his eyebrow in question as they walked over to the store.

"You will need to know what information is currently being taught in Hogwarts as curriculum changes throughout the years. In order to be placed in the fifth year, we will make sure that you are proficient in the books that are currently being used to teach the fourth years."

The two walked into Flourish and Botts and Michael instructed him to get his herbology and potions books while he would go find some others. As Evan perused the shelves he somehow stumbled upon the cooking section.

It had been a strange thing to learn about himself, but cooking with his Uncle had turned into something he was enjoying quite a bit. While he did appreciate the lessons he was being taught, his favorite time of day was quickly becoming their dinner prep. It obviously was something he would only continue to grow to enjoy in the future, based on the size of the kitchen at Valerian and the amount of cookware placed in the cottage.

Evan saw a book of desserts poking out of the shelf and grabbed it. While they had made a lot of delectable dinners, they had not really made any kinds of desserts yet. He took his time flipping through the pages leisurely, not looking for anything in particular when a voice startled him from behind.

"If all you're looking for is a good tart recipe, that book will suit you just fine, but nearly everything else in that book is quite rubbish."

Evan turned his head toward the sound of the voice and looked into a pair of dark blue eyes of a middle-aged woman. She was only a bit taller than Evan and her wavy dark-brown hair was piled elegantly upon her head. She had a kind face, with wrinkles so fine, that she probably looked 20 years younger if you saw her from a distance. Her azure robes appeared to be made of the finest fabric and fit her with such precision that it left Evan no doubt that they had been made for her by a personal tailor. She radiated wealth, but did not hold an aura of snobbery. As Evan met her eyes he could have sworn he saw a wave of confusion pass through her eyes, but maybe he was just imagining things.

"Oh, I was just looking through. I've been cooking recently and was thinking of maybe trying my hand at baking." Evan said indicating the book in his hands. He looked at the woman more closely, he could swear he had seen her somewhere before.

"Oh, if you're just starting I suggest…this one," the woman said as she pulled a medium sized plain book off the shelves and passed it over to Evan.

"Basics for Beginning Bakers" Evan read the book title aloud as she passed it over to him.

"Oh, the name may imply some silliness, but it is filled with great basic information. I still consult my copy from time to time and I have been familiar with a kitchen for an embarrassing amount of time," she said with a smile.

"Thank you for the suggestion," Evan said grinning back at her. Then remembering that he was supposed to be portraying pureblood manners, he added on "kind lady" with a small bow.

"Not a trouble at all! You shall make any young witch incredibly happy one day with your willingness to share cooking and with such manners!"

"Oh your words are far too gracious. Here you have given me council on which book to purchase and I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Evan Michaels," Evan said as he went to make a bow and held his right hand palm up, but was interrupted by a male voice.

"Oh there you are Cecily." A tall older-looking man with silver hair that had wisps of black struggled to make their presence known. His hair looked wind-tousled and he wore a pair of thin silver glasses. Walking over to the woman he placed a hand on her shoulder and a light kiss on her head. "Are you getting _another_ book on confectionaries? I swear if you continue to delight me with your delicious treats, I will become a very fat old man quite soon." The tone was teasing and the woman smiled back up at him.

"Oh, shush you! You are the picture of health!" the woman said, chastising him with a light laugh. "I was just showing this young man which books would best serve him in his culinary endeavors," she said, gesturing to Evan. There was a split second where they turned and were smiling at him in the same moment and Evan knew exactly where he had seen them before—in a mirror.

"He was about to introduce himself when you barged on in. This is my husband Nathaniel Potter and I am Cecily, we are pleased to make your acquaintance," Cecily continued as her husband shook his hand and Evan felt numb.

"Evan Michaels is the name that my nephew and I share and we are esteemed to make the acquaintances of such benevolent wizards such as yourselves," a voice said from behind him and as a hand gripped his shoulder. He watched silently as his Uncle introduced himself in the correct pure blood manner.

Evan listened with half an ear as his Uncle told a story about taking in his nephew and they just recently moved back to the UK. Evan was not sure how it happened but by the time they left the bookshop the Potters had strongly urged his Uncle to write to Dumbledore about having him attend school the next fall.

"Would you like to go back home now, or was there anything else you wished to do here?" his Uncle's quiet voice asked.

Evan replied with a minute shake of his head. "Let's go back."

Michael nodded and the two headed to an alleyway and Michael apparated them back to Valerian's back garden.

"Here, why don't you take some time to peruse through your texts and I'll start on dinner," Michael said as he handed Evan the books they purchased at the store that day.

Evan nodded and cradling the books in his arms, he made his way up the stairs to his room where he dumped all but one book on his desk. He went over to his bed and cradled his copy of _Basics for Beginning Bakers_ for a short time before he opened the book and devoured the information from the item that would likely be the closest thing to a gift from his grandmother that he expected he was to ever receive.

* * *

"Legilimens!" Michael cried at him.

Evan felt the prodding on his mind and put up his walls around his normal thoughts, only displaying confused and frightened emotions to his attacker. Michael pushed further, trying to get past the emotions and get to the wall where Evan's true emotions and thoughts were being protected. Evan could feel Michael starting to get too close to his thoughts and gave a rough push and invaded the older man's mind.

Michael must have been startled by this turn of events for Evan could feel the walls that were building to try and block out his attack. Taking a decision to prove how well he had become at Occlumency, Evan pushed through the barriers that were erecting and searched for something hidden deep within the other man's mind and flashes of memories played before him.

_Harry bent over a cauldron brewing with utmost precision and attention… the contents were incredibly important to him and even though he had made this hundreds of times, he must make sure that it came out perfectly._

…

_Evan and a redheaded girl were locked in a classroom. She was laughing hysterically and Evan felt embarrassed, hurt, and confused._

Evan pushed harder at the memories now, trying to see how far he could get into the other man's mind.

_Evan alone in a large bed, but it was okay. His lover was merely in the bathroom getting ready for a shower. Emotions of love, belonging and happiness radiated through the memory as Evan smirked and headed to the bathroom door to surprise his lover. The door opened and—_

"NO!"

Evan felt himself mentally pushed out of Michael's mind as his physical self was shoved with an equal force to the other side of the room. Evan looked over at Michael and was surprised to see that the man who was usually always in such control was bending over slightly, his hands resting on the tops of his thighs and he was breathing harshly as if he had run an extremely long distance.

The room was silent except for the heaves of Michael's breaths that were slowly beginning to regulate to a normal pattern.

"Michael—" Evan began desperate for some kind of explanation behind the memories.

"We are not doing that again," Michael said shortly as he stood up and made his way out of the study, heading to the kitchen.

Evan hurried after him, arriving in the kitchen mere moments after his Uncle, who was already making tea.

"If we are not practicing anymore, how am I supposed to improve?" Evan asked indignantly.

Michael didn't answer; instead he went looking about in a cupboard and pulled out a vial that looked to be filled with a calming draught. Harry gave a silent cheer for being able to recognize the potion his Uncle was currently downing.

"Evan…" Michael sighed and sat at the island in the kitchen. "This came at the correct time, you are aware we meet with Dumbledore in two weeks, correct?"

Evan nodded. It had been a month to the day since their adventure in Diagon Alley, upon returning Michael had made arrangements for Evan to meet with Dumbledore about attending Hogwarts. The two had corresponded and agreed on a meeting that was to take place on July 3rd so Evan could take a placement test to assure he was ready to join the 5th years at Hogwarts.

Since the trip to Diagon Alley, Evan had poured over the fourth year textbooks and he had started taking practice placement tests last week. On top of that they had been diligently practicing Occlumency as well.

"Well we are no longer going to be practicing Occlumency in the same way we have, because no one has ever broken through my shields. Ever," Michael said with a serious expression.

"Now we will begin to practice a new type of memory spell," Michael said getting up and pouring two cups of tea.

"But Michael, _I_ broke through those shields and—"

"This discussion is over Evan," Michael said with sharp stare and brought the two cups of tea back to the island.

"Over. Now we will begin working on the memory spell," Michael said with finality and moved into the new subject without further chances of discussion.

"What kind of memory spell?" Evan inquired, realizing he would only know the truth behind the memories of his Uncle by actually experiencing the moments when they would occur in his own life in the future.

"It plays off the obliviate spell. What the goal is is to not exactly remove the memory, but remove the knowledge of the memory but leave the feelings of the memory."

"What?" Evan asked with confusion.

"For instance when we meet with Albus… things will arise that he cannot know but he must feel that he can trust you."

"So basically it removes thoughts, but not intuitive feelings?" Evan said slowly, working through the effects out loud to understand them.

"That is a bit more like it." Michael said with a slow nod and summoned a book on the memory spell from the library.

* * *

"You nervous?" Michaels asked his young charge as they sat on the Night bus traveling towards Hogsmeade.

"A bit," Evan said as a giant farmhouse in the middle of nowhere jumped out of the bus' path.

"Try not to be you will do fine," Michael said with a reassuring smile.

Evan let out a breath and tried to smile. This is what they had planned for the past two months. He squirmed in his seat and tried not to think that he was on his way back to Hogwarts. The place where not too recently in the future so many would fight and lives would be lost. Remus… Snape…

"Hey, focus on the change and the present we are in now," Michael said as if he knew where Evan's thoughts were going.

Evan gave a nod and sat back to watch the countryside roll by as they made their way to Hogwarts.

_Tbc..._

* * *

So that is Chapter 3! I hope it was enjoyable, if you agree or disagree with this statement hit the shiny button below. It makes me happy.

-BongoMonkeys


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Right, so I would like to thank those of you who have been reading, I know the story has been moving a bit slowly, but I think it will pick up with this chapter!

This chapter is for Alex who asked for longer chapters, the last one was smaller but this one is double in length, nearly!

Also much thanks to **PenelopeSnape**, who made me happy by hitting the review button, just to make me happy.(Seriously, the reviews are highlights to my otherwise humdrum life). Thanks is also handed in internet cookie form to **TearfullPixie, Obsessed362, GoddessonmyKnees** and **Bibophile Nicole** for reviewing.

Special thanks to Loren, for betaing. Also to Ginji and TomTom for listening(I seriously do not know how they put up with me!)

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and most likely never will.

Anywho, enough of my ramblings, onto Chapter Four!

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter Four**

"Hogsmeade Village! Next stop, Hogsmeade," the elderly conductor called from the front of the bus. The Knight bus gave a couple more jerky lurches and then came to a stop.

Evan and Michael stood from their seats along with a few other patrons. They had barely removed themselves from the purple terror that called itself public transportation, before it jerked back to life with a bang and was once again continuing on its disorderly journey of transporting wizards across the country. When Evan looked up not a moment later, it had vanished from view.

The other patrons on the bus moved not with great haste, but at a speed that was far from what one would call strolling. It was a warm July morning and shops had not opened yet, but people still didn't seem to want to be outside alone for too long. In the past month since Evan and his Uncle had been to Diagon Alley, disappearances and hate crimes against muggleborns, had been increasing. It wasn't quite the height of Voldemort's reign of terror, but Evan could feel that that time was quickly approaching.

Michael and Evan shared a look and Evan double checked if all his barriers were in place. Occlumency shields? Check. Magic shield? Check. He gave his Uncle a nod and soon the two brunettes were heading down the dirt path to Hogwarts.

As they passed the shops that lined the village, Evan noticed that not much was different. It seemed that the major difference was that Madame Pudifoot's was currently a comfy looking bookstore. He also saw a restaurant and a trinket store taking up lots which were only empty in the future. Evan did not want to think about what had happened to those shops.

Evan felt the wave of a privacy charm flare and surround them as they continued their brisk pace towards the castle.

"This will be your first test, Evan," Michael stated. Evan had had many tests in the last couple of weeks, so he was not entirely sure what his Uncle was talking about. His face must have displayed some sort of confusion for his Uncle continued. "This is the first time when you will encounter those whom you have left behind. You must remember to try and mask feelings. You may know these people, but they do not know you. People are growing ever more suspicious in these times and you must portray innocence."

Evan nodded and then began to try and put the feelings of excitement at seeing Dumbledore alive and McGonagall at a healthier time in her life. Evan worked silently on his shields so that if Dumbledore looked, he would see those emotions but think they were about attending a new school.

The two were coming upon the castle and Evan could see off in the distance a figure in front of the gates who wore a plain black witch's hat and a blue and green tartan patterned robe. Her expression looked severe, even from far away and her square silver rimmed spectacles glinted in the sunlight.

Evan braced himself, having his shields work to his advantage to portray himself as a nervous young boy who just moved in with his uncle after his parents died.

"It's alright to be a bit nervous just meeting her again Evan," his uncle muttered out of the side of his mouth as they approached McGonagall. "Hell, she still makes me nervous sometimes."

Evan let out a small giggle at his Uncle's admission. Professor McGonagall apparently was the type of woman who would always exude authority, akin to a disapproving mother. Much like how Molly would always be the kind nurturer, Professor McGonagall would be the stern enforcer and Evan cared for them both equally because of it. But now was not the time to reflect on such memories.

"Good day, madame," Michael stated while repeating the same gesture that he had used to greet Ollivander the other day in the shop.

"Good day," the older professor replied with a stiff nod and the correct gesture.

Evan watched as his Uncle reached into his cloak and pulled out the letter from Dumbledore that had instructed them to come on this day for the meeting and passed it over to the witch. Professor McGonagall reviewed it quickly and nodded.

"I am Professor Minerva McGonagall. Deputy Headmaster Flitwick was unable to make it today so I will bring you to your meeting with the headmaster." She turned and the two began to follow. Evan noticed that McGonagall seemed to walk at an even faster pace in this time. It made sense really, seeing as how she was thirty years younger.

The trip to the headmaster's office was quite, and slightly awkward, due to no one really speaking. It seemed as if there was an unspoken agreement to try to end the tension as quickly as possible and the three arrived at the gargoyle in record time. Professor McGonagall muttered the password so quietly that neither Evan nor Michael heard the password, and the party stepped upon the moving staircase.

Evan began to think about the training his Uncle had taught him. _When in circumstances that seem unnatural or forced, assess the situation, take in all the details so that you may come to the correct conclusions as to what could be happening._ Well, Professor McGonagall had been quiet and reserved, as if she didn't trust them. Well that certainly made sense, how often does someone ask to attend Hogwarts, not at the age of eleven? Did they even take people in then? Perhaps, despite the letters that had been exchanged between his Uncle and Dumbledore there was suspicion amongst the teachers, maybe even the order, as to who they were and what they could want.

Voldemort was gaining followers quickly. Not only that, it was entirely plausible that he was infiltrating government systems at the moment. Could they think that they were spies? The minute the thought crossed Evan he was slightly upset for two reasons. One—he should have thought of it at first, after all the Dark Lord was rising quickly at this point. Second—it was a little unnerving that everyone was so suspicious. It was becoming quite clear that he would need to pay attention to interactions like his Uncle had taught him. It was not only an ability that would be useful in properly understanding situations, but to keep out of trouble to the best of his abilities. After all, he did have a knack for finding sticky situations.

Evan did not get a chance to think much more on this, for they had arrived at the headmaster's office. Professor McGonagall knocked three times and opened the door to the office and as they followed her in, Evan felt his Uncle grip his shoulder rather hard.

"Headmaster Dumbledore, here are Misters Evan Michaels for their 11 o'clock appointment." McGonagall introduced the two and Evan was than greeted by the sight of Dumbledore rising from a chair.

He now understood why his Uncle had trained and practiced him to shield his emotions and why said Uncle was currently gripping his shoulders. Had he not, Evan would have broken down in front of the old wizard who was greeting them and offering them the two seats in front of the desk. Dumbledore was alive. There he was, behind his shields Evan was crying, laughing, screaming, and struggling to run to the man who had loved him despite the death he was to experience, and Evan was filled with a burning desire to either hug him or hex his bits off.

Evan took a mental breath. This was not the time or place. At this moment, he was Evan Michaels who barely knew the strange old man with a graying beard, blue eyes and lilac robes. He gave his Uncle a smile that he hoped conveyed he was ok now, he could handle this. Michael must have understood, for he let go of Evan's shoulders and moved before his own chair. The three sat down and Dumbeldore let out a small smile, that Evan assumed was meant to be reassuring.

"Tea?" Dumbledore offered.

"No, thank you," was Michael's polite reply.

"Well then, I know we had exchanged some letters, but why don't you two tell me a bit about yourselves," Dumbledore said, all business.

"Right, my brother and his wife… disappeared a couple of months ago, and their son was sent to live with me. Up until this point my nephew, has been attending a type of home school run by a some trained wizards in the country. There was not many but probably about 20 or so witches and wizards his own age. However, I have not the means, experience or time to train a young wizard. When we were in Diagon Alley, a little over a month ago, many people spoke of Hogwarts and we ran into an older couple, the Potter's I believe, who suggested we write to you about him attending this place of learning," Michael finished off the scripted story.

Evan watched as Dumbledore looked over to him, as if reading his face to see if the story was true, he must have found something credible for even though Dumbledore had a slightly questioning expression he turned back to his Uncle.

"Surely you have found a school closer that he could go to."

"Unfortunately I need a boarding school. I was not prepared to act as guardian and my job allowed me to take some time off to get my affairs in order, but I will not able to always be able to watch him."

"Tuition is—"

"Money is not a problem."

Dumbledore gave his Uncle a long look and then he once again turned to Evan and something in his gaze softened. Dumbledore must be buying some parts of the story.

"Mr. Michaels, how do you feel about going to this school?"

"Err… I liked my old school, and friends," which was true, "but I mean, that village is full of reminders… It might be nice to have a change of scenery." Evan felt the bitter irony of the statement in the back of his mind.

"I am sure you have researched some of Hogwarts for yourself, but I shall tell you a bit about the school. We take in all kinds of witches and wizards at the age of 11 to train them in the art and sciences of magic. It was founded by four witches and wizards—Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. They taught various aspects of magic and formed four houses that we still use to this day. Each house has been titled with the last name of its [associating] founder. You see, each of the founders found certain traits most appealing. Godric was one for courage, Helga for those who were loyal, Rowena for those with yearning to learn, and Salazar valued those with cunning and ambition.

The students stay in these houses from their first year until they graduate. These houses are the second family for the students; they eat, sleep and become each other's support throughout these important seven years of intellectual and personal discovery. The core classes that we teach here are: astronomy, charms, defense against the dark arts, herbology, history of magic, transfigurations, and potions. Our students take all of these until the end of their fifth year. They also have a chance to add electives after their second year when they have mastered more of the basics. We have quidditch teams and clubs and although the students are sorted into different houses we of course encourage friendships across houses."

Evan gave a nod of understating, Dumbledore was implying that he did not want prejudices in his school, but he knew they would occur.

"We expect hard work from our students," Dumbledore continued, "and for them to achieve well in their studies and O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s which are taken at the end of the fifth and seventh years, respectively. How old are you, Mr. Michaels?"

"I just turned 15 this May, sir." Michael had told Evan that his new legal birthday was the day that they had arrived in this time, stating with a smirk that it was when he had 'arrived into this world'.

"That would normally place you to start with our 5th years, in September. We find that students do best with their age group. Would you mind taking some tests so I can see where you are?"

"Not at all sir," Evan said hiding his nervousness at taking the tests, after all if he scored incorrectly he would end up in the wrong year!

Dumbledore waved his wand and muttered an incantation and a small desk with a stack of papers appeared and he instructed Evan to not worry about getting everything right and just answer the questions to the best of his abilities.

Evan stared down at the list of questions, gripped his quill and began to take the test. _Question one: What is a boggart? Describe the creature and how one would arm one's self against a boggart. _

Evan could answer this easily. This was always third or fourth year information. As he made his way through the test he found that even though he had taken many of these types of written placement tests over the last couple of weeks, he was still confused as to if some of the questions were supposed to be on the fourth or fifth year curriculums.

After what seemed like ages Evan lifted his head and noticed that a bubble had been placed around him for privacy during the test and he could see that his Uncle and Dumbledore were talking and had not yet noticed that he had completed the theoretical part of the examination. As Evan went to cancel the charm on the privacy bubble, he stopped half-way through the counter charm as his Michael's voice reminded him in the back of his mind. _Assess every situation._

Evan looked at the charm work around the bubble and flushed with embarrassment. This type of charm was not taught till the end of sixth year and if he had dismantled the charm it would have been suspicious. Deciding that he should not be caught analyzing the amount of power that went into the charm, Evan began doodling on a spare piece of parchment as he tried to look into the amount of power Dumbledore had put into the charm. After about a minute of dissecting the layers and amount of power that had been placed in the charm, Evan was incredibly thankful he had not cancelled the charm. If he had, Dumbledore would know exactly how powerful he was.

When Dumbeldore cancelled the charm and the bubble dissolved, Evan pretended not to notice. For it was probable that an average sixth year would not have been able to tell that Dumbledore had ended the charm.

"Mr. Michaels, have you finished your examination?" Dumbledore's voice asked.

Evan dropped the quill in what he hoped appeared to be a surprised manner, then he attempted to portray his facial features as someone who was trying to hide the fact that they had been startled. He let Dumbeldore know he had finished the examination and watched as the papers flew to Dumbledore's desk. Dumbeldore took the stack of papers in his hand while walking over to the fireplace, threw in some floo powder and handed the papers through to someone on the other side.

"Well now, Mr. Michaels how about we see how your theoretical application of spells is doing?"

"Yes, sir."

"Come now, let's test out some charms and transfigurations," Dumbledore said with a smile that did not meet his ever-watchful blue eyes.

The next two hours passed with Dumbledore having him transfigure random objects that he had, only stopping when Evan told him he was unable to transfigure an object (which was not always true). These practical tests were harder than Evan had anticipated, not only did he have to perform magic at a level lower than he was used to, but he also had to keep the shields around his true power level and convince Dumbledore he was trying his hardest the whole time.

There was a knock at the office door and as Dumbledore went to answer it Michael came over to Evan.

"How are you holding up?" Michael asked with care written all over his face. How much was for show, Evan didn't know.

"Fine, just getting a bit tired is all."

Michael gave him a knowing look and nodded. "You're doing just fine, Evan. Remember this is just to gauge where you are as a wizard-in-training."

Evan was sure that comment had been said just loud enough that Dumbledore could hear it from the doorway, if he had been listening.

Dumbledore finished his conversation with the person at the door, then turning to the two men in his office he motioned that they should resume sitting. Once the three were seated Dumbledore looked at the two of them over his half-moon spectacles.

"Gentlemen, it seems as if everything is in order. Mr. Michaels, your nephew has scored so that if he joined us for the school year in September, he would be placed with our fifth-years."

Evan relaxed a little bit, but noticed that his Uncle did not.

"However," Dumbledore's eyes flashed with suspicion, "I am not a foolish man. If I was any less aware of people or if I did not have the power to detect deceitfulness, there could have been a high chance that I would have welcomed you into my school."

Evan tensed at these words.

"You both radiate power but have it so well controlled and hidden that it took me nearly an hour to break down the glamour you had on your own skills and even then, I found that I was the only one who could see them after that. You are both under the influence of a glamour charm or potion, so as to hide your true features. I ask that you either tell me who you are at this moment, or I will forcibly remove you from the grounds of my school at once. I will not ask again." The Albus Dumbledore that said these words was not the kind-hearted mentor that had once shared memories of Tom Riddle with Evan. This was the Albus Dumbledore that Voldemort was scared of, and Evan could imagine exactly why that was now. This was a Dumbledore who was at war. Shit.

Evan did not know what to do or expect in that moment, but his Uncle chuckling lightly at Albus' words was not a reaction he had envisioned.

"Albus, you never change," his Uncle said lightly while reaching into his cloak pocket and whisked out a letter that Evan now remembered seeing once before.

Michael put the letter on the desk and Dumbledore looked from Michael to the letter with clear distrust written all over his face.

"Feel free to perform any charms on it you wish," Michael said cheerfully. There was a silence before Dumbledore spoke again.

"That is my handwriting," Dumbledore said tersely.

"Yup."

Evan watched as Dumbledore flicked his wand over the letter many times while chanting numerous dark art revealing spells. Most of which, Evan was proud to say, he knew.

Cautiously, Dumbledore picked up the letter and took out a letter that looked to be about two pages. His eyes scanned the pages quickly and he looked at the two of them skeptically, than read the letter again.

"Mr. Michaels, if I am to believe this letter, will you enact, what was the phrase I used," Dumbledore said as he looked to a line in the letter, "Memory lane."

Michael reached once more into his cloak and pulled out the vial of memories and passed it to Dumbledore with a serious expression on his face.

Dumbledore took the vial and walked over to his pensieve. With trepidation he poured the memories into it and dove right in.

"What do we do now?" Evan asked, as he turned toward his Uncle.

"We order a plate of sandwiches, then we are going to ward Albus' office with heaps and heaps of privacy wards."

Michael went to the fireplace to order the food from the kitchens, and once the food arrived the two sat down and ate a sandwich each, along with a quick swig of pumpkin juice. The two then set out warding any possible point through which, they thought, anyone could listen in on the next conversation that was going to take place in the office.

Michael let Evan ward the easy things, like the doors and the windows and took the portraits for himself.

"Who do you think you are, banishing us away from our frames!" one indignant past headmaster cried from his frame.

"A very powerful wizard who is incredibly capable of just removing your portraits, but instead is letting you go somewhere else for the next conversation, because if you were to hear then you may be at risk."

There was a murmur among the portraits as they watched Michael banish another painting away from its frame.

"Well if we have to go somewhere, can't you send me to the nice painting of an island at least?" the next painting argued.

"Don't be stupid Palter, in those robes! You'll sweat and look disgusting!" another painting voiced.

"You'll go where you go and like it!" Michael snapped while he banished the three argumentative paintings.

Evan stifled a small snort of laughter at the humorous scene as more paintings began to object to their temporary removal.

"You should send the rebellious ones to all hang out with Sir Cadogan," Evan suggested as he put the finishing touched on a window.

"You wouldn't dare!" gasped an older wizard.

Michael smiled evilly at his younger self than turned back to the paintings. "Right. Any of you put up any more fuss and I'll make it so you are stuck not only in his painting, but with him for the next ten years."

"There's no way you could do that!"

"Are you volunteering?"

There was utter silence at that comment.

The rest of the warding went by quite smoothly now that the paintings were more than happy to be removed from the office for the time being. The two worked in silence for the next thirty minutes and sat back down in the chairs to wait for Dumbledore to come back. Michael handed him another sandwich and Evan nibbled on it quietly.

"Not too much longer now," Michael said as he looked at his watch.

Evan knew better than to ask what memories Dumbledore was given so he didn't. That really didn't stop him from wanting to know though. Would the memories be the key to making Dumbledore trust them? He shifted restlessly in his seat.

"Why didn't you just hand over the envelope in the first place?" he found himself asking of his older counter-part.

"Albus needed to see how strong we were. Also you needed to be tested too," Michael said pointedly.

"Oh." Evan wished he could argue with his Uncle on this but…

"This gave you a chance to see how well you are at controlling your magic in a setting that is not entirely comfortable for you. Not only that, but being able to control your emotions as well. It's not that I didn't think you could do it, but this was a great opportunity for a test-run."

Evan nodded. "That does make sense."

Evan didn't know how much more time had passed but by the time he had finished nibbling down on the second sandwich, Dumbledore appeared out of the Pensieve. Evan could not help but notice that the man looked older and even wearier than he did before. Not only that, but he seemed… nervous and uncomfortable about something. Dumbledore took in both of their appearances and then hesitantly nodded at Michael.

"Evan, drink this, please," Michael said as he passed Evan a milky blue vial from the inside of his cloak. Evan briefly wondered how much Michael could fit in that cloak before he took the vial from him.

"What is this?" Evan asked.

"Can you tell me?" Michael challenged.

"Well." Evan held the potion to the light and swirled it around in the vial. Undoing the stopper, he smelled the potion as he swirled it around again. "Based on the consistency and color, I would have to say it's some kind of altering potion. But the small fluctuation in the smell implies some sort of time frame for the potion," Evan said than looked over in the proud face of his Uncle.

"Well done, you have been paying attention to our potion lessons," Michael said with a teasing grin.

Evan glanced back at the potion, and was a bit surprised himself. The fact that he was able to discern all that from just looking and smelling the potion showed how far he had come in the subject. What was even more surprising was that he actually did know what the potion would do. Tilting the potion into his mouth, he downed the concoction in one gulp. There was a slight cold tingling sensation that passed through his body with a small shudder. Where Evan Michaels had been standing not five seconds before, was Harry Potter.

He turned to face the Headmaster who was still looking at them with the same kind of nervous apprehension, along with some kind of small shock that was hiding in his blue eyes.

"So… the fact that you're here... you were successful?" Albus asked with trepidation.

"Yes, we both were," his older self answered and Harry watched as the two shared a knowing glance about something that Harry felt was a more than just Voldemort... but then…

"Wait, how much was in your memories?" Harry could not help but ask.

"Everything. Everything I had planned until my death." There was an awkward silence and Dumbledore looked over at Harry helplessly. "Do you… can you…?"

Harry turned to his older self. "Can I show him Kings Cross?" There was an affirmative response and Harry turned to the confused older man.

"Sir, would you cast the Legilimens spell on me please? I think it may be easier." Dumbledore nodded in response.

"Legilimens!" Dumbledore said as he pointed his wand at the young dark haired man in front of him.

Harry put his memory of talking to the older man at King's Cross Station shortly after his death at the forefront of his mind and allowed the intrusion. It felt strange as he felt Dumbledore move through the memory. It was definitely an odd sensation to re-experience a memory, to want someone to watch a memory in your mind when all his senses were screaming for the intruder to be removed at once. Evan was proud to notice that he was able to keep all other vital information behind a wall that Dumbeldore could not access.

Then it was all over and he was once again looking at Dumbledore, who looked slightly relieved but still a bit uncomfortable.

"I don't blame you, sir. For any of it," Harry said, knowing that Dumbledore would know what he meant and before either of them realized what had happened Harry was hugging his old mentor, allowing them a release of emotions they so desperately needed. They parted after a moment and Dumbledore placed his hands on his shoulders as he looked at him with a watery shine in his blue eyes.

"I am so proud of you my boy. You have truly become a great man," he said giving his shoulders a squeeze. Dumbledore let go of him and walked around to go to speak with his future self.

"And you!" Dumbledore said before giving his older self a slap up-side the head.

"Hey!" his older self cried as Harry let out a gasp of surprise.

"Don't worry, Harry, he knows what that's for. I know it's been hard on you—don't give me that look!" Dumbledore said as he chastised his older self with a finger (who was now sporting an odd pouty look as he rubbed the back of his head). "You just make sure to handle the next step of your plan with care. There has already been quite enough damage to both parties!"

Dumbledore then took his older self in a fierce hug and whispered something that Harry couldn't hear, but when they pulled apart Harry was surprised to see his older self shaking off what looked like tears.

"Right, so your potion is going to wear off soon Harry and then we are going to have to use that spell we have been going over."

Harry let out an audible groan and received questioning looks from the other two men in the room. "I'm just going to miss being able to think of myself as 'Harry'. Do you have any idea how annoying it is to keep thinking your name is one thing, but know in actuality that it's not that name at all!"

"Harry, this is the last time you are going to be able to speak candidly to Albus for a long time and you're complaining about your name!" his older self said with mock exasperation.

"Well, it is annoying..." Harry reasoned.

Harry watched as his older self and Dumbledore then scooped the memories from the pensieve back into the vial.

Harry felt a familiar shudder, this time as hot as fire, pass through his body and once again he was Evan Michaels.

"You ready Albus?" Michael asked of the older wizard.

"As ready, as I'll ever be. Just, take care of each other," he said, once again addressing both of them with a single phrase.

Evan got his wand out to help perform the charm but his Uncle shook his head no.

"Evan in order to be able to do this memory charm correctly you need to be able to watch someone execute correctly. Make sure to pay specific attention to my motions and the exact phrasings of the spell."

Evan situated himself in-between Dumbledore and Michael, doing so that he would be able to see the movements of Michael's wand and their placement on Dumbledore. Once he was sure of his placement, he nodded to his Uncle.

"_Ad __delens __in __speciali __sed __non __affectu__s_!" Michael cried out the spell as his wand made small complex shapes around Dumbledore's head and heart with quick precise movements. The spell appeared around Dumbledore in the shape of white mist, surrounding his person, until Dumbledore was outlined in white. There was slight blue glow around Dumbledore and then it seemed to be absorbed by his skin.

Dumbledore moved back into his seat behind the desk and Michael motioned for the two of them to do the same. Dumbledore seemed space out for a brief moment, before shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts.

"That's some kind of spell you have put on me young, man," Dumbledore said looking at Michael over his spectacles. "I don't know what you did to make me trust you, but I know I do. So much so, that I feel guilty at this moment for doubting you. I trust the removal of my memories was important?" While the words could be construed as suspicious, the bite was taken out of them, for that mischievous twinkle that Evan had gotten to know so well in his school days was back.

"Very much so," Michael said with an amused smirk.

"Right then, Mr. Michaels. It appears you will be joining us come the first of September. Why don't we get you sorted into a house? That is, unless you wish to be sorted with a bunch of 11 year olds at the welcoming feast?" Dumbledore said looking at Evan across with desk with that damned twinkle again.

"Uh. No thanks. I wouldn't mind be sorted now," Evan said quickly. Really the very idea of being the focal point of the whole school at once would be something Evan did not want to experience. He had had enough of that for one schooling experience, thank you very much.

Dumbledore chuckled and got up to retrieve the old sorting hat from its home.

"Any hints?" Evan asked his Uncle.

"Nope."

Dumbledore came back with the old hat. "Now, we sort our students by our sorting hat, all you have to do is try it on." And with no further warning Dumbledore dropped the age-old hat upon his head, which to Evan's surprise still fell over his eyes.

_Godric must have had a huge head,_ he grumbled in his head.

_**He certainly thought so,**_ came a voice in his ear. _**So you are the student that has woken me from my writing a new song for the next year. Just when I was on the verge of a breakthrough too!**_

_Err… yeah._

_**Wait a minute! We've done this before!**_

_How can you tell that! My shields are still up!_

The hat made a noise that sounded awfully like an amused snort. _**Wizards, think that they can hide themselves so well. True, another Wizard would probably be unable to see into your mind but I was designed to be able to see through barriers, and I have not yet failed once,**_ the hat added smugly.

_**Much more patient this time around, aren't we? Oh, but much more ambitious and so much more knowledge! Even though you never graduated... Oh, but this desire to achieve your goal has sealed your fate. The only place that will let you get where you need to be this time is **_

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat called out for the others in the office to hear.

As Evan took off the hat, though it seemed he was the only one surprised to be placed in this house. Michael and Dumbledore were just looking at him and smiling with knowing looks in their eyes.

"Right then, you must choose your electives," Dumbledore said leaving little time for room to discuss his new house as he passed him a piece of paper.

Evan pretended to review the classes on the paper in front of him, truth was he and Michael had already picked out which classes he would take. "Ancient Runes and Arithmancy," Evan stated as he handed the paper back to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore then gave them the list of books and supplies that Evan would need for the following year.

"Well this meeting has been most… productive," Dumbledore said as he stood.

"Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day, Headmaster. We are most appreciative," Michael said standing and shaking Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

"Come let me show you two out." Dumbledore followed them out the doors and made note of things they passed on their way to the entrance hall. The two young men bid a polite goodbye to Dumbledore and then made their way across the grounds and into the night.

"Were they here because of You-know-who?" Minerva asked Albus as she watched the two figures call the Knight Bus.

"I believe that they were," Albus said slowly.

"Albus! You cannot be serious, it appeared as if you were going to allow that boy to attend school here!" Minerva cried out in evident shock.

"Hmm, yes. Young Evan Michaels will be joining us for school. But you know Minerva," Albus said, turning to meet her befuddled expression for the first time. "I would trust those young men with my life."

With that Albus turned on his heel and walked leisurely back into Hogwarts, leaving Minerva gaping like a grindylow at the entrance, damning that infernal twinkle in Albus' eyes.

* * *

"Evan." Evan looked up from his dinner and looked at his Uncle. "I want to let you know, that you did extremely well today. I know you were not expecting certain things to happen the way they did," he paused at Evan's snort of amusement, "but do you know why that memory charm is so important now?"

"Well, it allowed us to ensure that Dumbledore would trust us and allow for me to attend school there."

"Yes, but Evan now that you understand the spell and know how to use it, I am going to have to teach you how to replace memories," Michael said with what sounded like regret.

"Why?"

"I do hope you never have to use that version of the spell, but just in case you ever have a slip-up you must be able to erase a memory and replace it with a new one, so as not to arouse suspicion."

Evan let out a small sigh. "And when do we start adding that on to our training regiment?"

"Tomorrow."

"And here I foolishly thought that I had mastered all the complicated spells I would need at this point," Evan said with a humorous tone. "And here I was thinking that coming to this time would actually allow me to have some moments of relaxation."

"Well, you will. Just be patient Evan. These steps are—"

"Yeah, I know they are important so I don't mess up the space-time continuum," Evan interrupted. "I just hope all this prep work will pay off."

"Don't worry, this is one thing I can assure you of—is that it will." Michael said and Evan couldn't tell if his Uncle was sad or happy about that fact—and it scared him a bit. The two ate in silence for a bit. Later while they were cleaning the dishes, Michael brought up the topic of school supplies.

"When would you like to go to Daigon Alley?"

"I dunno…" Michael coughed. "Excuse me. Ahem—I don't know," Evan said correcting his language. "Maybe in a month, so we would be going around mid August?"

"Is someone who was basically just reassuring me, very recently I might add, that they felt ready to go out in public. But now, said person would actually like to do some more prep work before venturing back into the crowded streets of Diagon Alley?"Michael teased.

Evan's response was a very mature facial gesture of sticking his tongue out at his Uncle. "Can never be too prepared, can we, Michael?" he said flicking water at him.

"No you can't, Evan," Michael replied by splashing water at his nephew.

The two soon found themselves to be in an extremely entertaining water fight, and Evan knew, that later they would have to clean up the giant mess later, but for now he could admit to himself with no problem, that he was happy and excited about where his life was and where it appeared to be taking him.

_Tbc.._

* * *

Next time: Shopping in Daigon Alley and hopefully the train! I do promise we will see some very familiar faces next time.

See the pretty 'Review' button? It would make me as happy and delighted as a daffodil if you would please hit that button and let me know your thoughts! Hugs!

BongoMonkeys


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Here is chapter five! I hope you all enjoy it!

Thanks to **GoddessonmyKnees, gwynclaire, AlmondWithUnicornHair, GalynSolo, Blackened Rose, TearfullPixie, DannniiGirl, CazzyLove, **and **Mia Tun **(The review you left me was much more than I deserve, but I thank you for it and hope this chapter lives up to your expectations),who made me happy by hitting the review button. I seriously think I let out a ridiculous, girlish squeal of delight everytime I see that pretty 'Review Alert' in my e-mail inbox.

Special thanks to Loren, for betaing. Also to Ginji(who put up with a lot this time around!) and TomTom for listening. All remaining mistakes are my own. Which if you find, you are more than welcome to point out to me .

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and most likely never will.

Anywho, enough of my ramblings, onto Chapter Five!

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter 5**

It was if someone had put an advert in the paper that everyone in the Wizarding world was to go to Diagon Alley today. As if today was the last day ever to go to the alley, for the place was bursting with shop goers.

Evan and Michael barely squeezed past another set of people in the crowded alleyway.

"We could have gone weeks ago, but noooo! Someone wanted to go today!" Michael complained as he swerved out of the way of a group of children playing tag.

Evan laughed in amusement at his Uncle's grumpy complaints. "It's nice to see people milling about, besides we both knew I could use the practice."

Michael shrugged and the two made their way down the alleyway, passing the apothecary.

"I am not letting the Apothecary be our first stop. We won't leave for ages if we go in there," Michael pointed out.

While Evan still did not particularly love potions, his knowledge about the subject had grown exponentially. So much so, that he appreciated the subject and was surprised to find that he actually would enjoy spending some time in the apothecary looking over ingredients, judging their quality… weird.

"So do you want to hit up shops as we go, or shall we go in the order of the items on your list?"

Evan looked around the alley and his eyes caught the sight of a bunch of boys crowded around the quality quidditch supplies store. Evan felt a pang of sadness, which was quite silly. While he only looked to be 15, the truth was he was 18. He shouldn't care about the newest brooms or the advancements in gloves and other quidditch accesories. Evan tried to shake off the feeling. Besides he had much more important things to accomplish here. After all, his research on snakes was proving to be increasingly difficult and—

"Hey Evan, let's go in," Michael's voice said, breaking Evan out of his train of thought. Evan looked up at his Uncle whose face was plastered with an excited boyish smile.

"But… school supplies…" Evan said with hesitation that he hoped wouldn't show in his voice.

"You've been working hard. Let's just go peek."

Evan nodded enthusiastically and the two moved into the store, passing by the young boys who were just looking at the new broom _The Nimbus 1700 _through the window. The store was filled with teenagers looking at service kits and quidditch robes.

Evan and Michael moved to the side of the store where the brooms were vertically placed on the wall with the name and the description of each broom written beneath it on a small plaque. Evan got so caught up in reading about the new, but antique to him, brooms that he barely noticed when Michael told him he was going to go look at balls.

"Okay," Evan muttered halfheartedly as he moved on past the _Shooting Star's_ and _Comet's_ to look at the display of _The Nimbus 1700_ that was on display in the store. He heard Michael chuckle and mutter something about boys and their toys before wandering off.

Evan drank in the sight of the newly released broom. While the handle did not look as sleek as his _Firebolt_ model back home and the twigs on this broom were not constructed in the same manner, it did not deter his enjoyment of looking at a newly released broom. _The Nimbus 1700 _looked high and mighty, sitting there under the golden glow of a spotlight charm.

"They say it's going to revolutionize the Nimbus line," an excited voice said to his left.

Evan repressed a snort. It certainly was, as this broom was going to make Nimbus a top competitor for racing brooms. He remembered reading about it in _Quidditch Through the Ages._

"Think your parents will get it for you?" another voice replied that Evan swore he knew from somewhere.

"Probably for Christmas, my birthday was just in March and they got me a new set of gloves and boots. But I'm sure if I made a reasonable enough case, I could manage it," the voice added on proudly and Evan could just imagine the boy to be wearing a triumphant smirk.

"James Potter, are you looking at brooms _again_?" An amused older female voice, which Evan recognized, joined the conversation.

Evan froze.

"Oh, beautiful, shining, gracious mother who brings joy to every person she meets, how are you on this fine August morn?" the proud voice stated in a grand sort of way. It reminded Evan strongly of Fred and George Weasley.

_I will not turn around, I will not turn around. I will not turn around,_ Evan repeated to himself mentally. Oh where was Michael when he needed him? No, this was what Evan had been training for. He could do this, after all his pureblood manners dictated that this would [now] be an appropriate time to acknowledge Mrs. Potter's presence.

Evan mentally checked his shields and tucking his emotions that were probably best to be experienced later behind his Occlumency shields, he turned and caught the sight of the youngest James Potter he had ever seen (except from a photograph) and a young Sirius Black grinning at Cecily Potter, who was trying to be annoyed with her son, but failing tremendously.

Shaking her head at her son, Cecily's eyes met Evan's and a different kind of smile graced her features.

"Ahh, Mrs. Potter, an auspicious morning to you." Evan gave a slight bow as he held out his hand, palm up.

"An auspicious morning, to you as well, Mr. Michaels!" Cecily Potter replied in kind with a small curtsey, whilst her small lady-like hand rested lightly on the top of Evan's. The two stood and Mrs. Potter turned to her son.

"James, this was the young man I was telling you about. The one with the manners I know I taught you, but you do not employ. Mr. Evan Michaels, may I introduce my oldest and only child, James Potter."

James Potter rolled his brown eyes at his mother but still turned to face Evan to give him the proper greeting nonetheless. "Greetings in kind, Mr. Michaels." James held out his hand to him.

Evan once again found himself having to take a mental breath. It was quickly becoming a trend. "Kind greetings indeed, Mr. Potter." Evan took James' hand and shook it quickly, but not in such haste that it could have been conceived as rude. He was just not sure of how much contact he could handle with the other boy.

"Right, that's Sirius," James said gesturing his thumb to the grinning blue-eyed boy behind him, abandoning all sense of manners. This act earned an eye-roll from his mother.

"I truly do put forth my best effort to teach my son some semblance of decorum, Evan. However, it seems my son wishes not to use the manners taught to him by his mother."

Before Evan could chance a reply, Sirius stepped in front of James and made a deep bow that was just barely respectful and dangerously going into mocking territory.

"I do so apologize for my comrade's rudeness, good sir!" Sirius completed the bow and thrust out his hand in a dramatic gesture. "Greetings in kind Evan Michaels! I am Sirius Black, eldest child of the house of Black."

"Kind greetings, Mr. Black," Evan said timidly as he shook his hand.

James came around and threw his arm over Sirius' shoulder. "Oh Black, old boy why don't we head on over to Gringotts to discuss our investments," James said in what Evan could only assume was supposed to be a stuffy older-sounding voice.

"Oh splendid idea indeed, Mr. Potter!" Sirius exclaimed as he and James turned toward the exit of the shop. "I do so grow tired of this establishment and wish to surround myself with boring paper work and contracts filled with nonsensical words that no one understands!"

The two proceeded to the door, and started to fake bicker with one another about who deserved to open the door for the other.

"Oh, I am far inferior to you, kind sir!"

"Pish. Please allow me to hold the door for you, sir!"

"I better go stop them before they make further spectacles of themselves," Cecily Potter stated to Evan while looking over at her son and his friend with her face trying to school itself into annoyance, but her amusement at the situation was showing through.

"That may be a good idea," Evan replied, noticing that several customers were watching the fake argument.

Cecily Potter making a small curtsey, while waving with her right hand, bid Evan good day. She went over to her charges to usher them out of the store. Unfortunately, this seemed to only exacerbate the situation.

"Mother, darling! Please let me get that door for you!"

"No, no, no. Mrs. Potter, allow _me_ to get the door for a lovely lady such as yourself!" Sirius cried as he bumped James out of the way of the door.

"You could both open the door, so we may leave this shop."

"Oh, genius! How did we not see this solution, good Mr. Potter!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Oh, Mother dear you are as beautiful as you are wise!" James Potter's voice cried as the three left the shop.

Through the window, Evan saw as Mrs. Potter tried to admonish her child for such an overdramatic display, but failing terribly as both James and Sirius tried to escort her down the street.

Well, that was interesting.

"Ah Evan, there you are." Michaels's voice came from behind him. "You ready to get your books?"

The trip to Flourish and Blotts was relatively uneventful, especially when compared to the last trip that the pair had experienced prior to this one. Even though the store was possibly three times as full as when Evan and Michael had purchased the fourth year texts on their previous visit, it only took them around thirty minutes to complete their purchases. Neither really had the desire to browse in the shop when it was so filled to the brim with people.

"Who's ready to try on robes?" Michael asked in a slight sing-song voice, as the two exited the shop.

"Ughhhh… I hate this part. She always manages to prick me with one of her needles!" Evan complained as they walked next-door to Madame Malkin's.

"Maybe if you didn't squirm as much, then she wouldn't manage to stick you with one," Michael reasoned as they arrive at the front of the shop.

"I don't squirm!" Evan cried in defense, but at Michael's pointed look he added on [a] with a mumble, "Well, not so much that she should attack me."

Michael rolled his eyes with a chuckle and their entrance to the shop was announced by the small bell that was placed above the door.

Mrs. Malkin came bustling out of the back in a hurry.

"Hogwarts?" At Evan's nod she continued. "You're in luck, there is a lull right now, why don't you go ahead and stand up on the block, dearie. Have you purchased your robes here before?"

"No, I have not."

"Right, then. I shall need your name and house."

"Evan Michaels, Slytherin."

She disappeared into the back and was out again before Evan could contemplate why she didn't use pureblood greetings. _Probably too busy and stressed with all the students_, Evan mused. Nevertheless, he tucked the information to the back of his mind to reflect on later.

Madame Malkin appeared again with a piece of parchment floating behind her. As she measured Evan, his measurement's began to periodically appear on the parchment. After her measurements had been made, Madame Malkin summoned what looked to be a mass of black fabric from the back room. She took said fabric and began to drape it over Evan in what seemed to him a half-hazardous fashion, the pins she used glinting with evil intent as she set about pinning the fabric to Evan's form.

"We will need at least a set of robes to last a week without washing," Michael chimed in from the side. "As well as three sets of everyday robes in," Evan heard a rustle and assumed Michael had been looking through a catalogue of some sort, "style 45C in the deep red, forest green and pixie blue."

Evan turned to see what his Uncle had been choosing and was rewarded by a sharp pin snagging his skin.

"Ouch!"

"You really ought to learn to stand still," Michael's voice called over and Evan could just hear the smirk in his voice.

After the brutal attack by Madame Malkin's pins, the two stopped by the stationery store to grab some more quills and extra parchment for school. They made a quick stop to the Cauldron shop, which did not take too long for they had most of the supplies that Evan would need at school in the potions room at Valerian. The only stop they had left was the Apothecary.

As the two entered the shop, Evan tried to hide the fact that he was slightly disappointed he had not seen his mother… or the other teenager who would end up being the man who would save his life on multiple occasions. What did end up being incredibly true was the fact that his Uncle could very well spend hours in the shop. It was about at the thirty minute mark he found himself getting fidgety.

While Evan did appreciate the art of potions more now and enjoy the subject, he was growing restless after many debates with his Uncle over which Salamander eyes seemed more bloodshot which would be more useful for a calming draught, and which ones looked that looked to be drier, which would be easier to use in salves.

"Why don't we just buy this jar and we can sort them out when we get back home?" Evan asked in exasperation as he grabbed a jar from the shelf.

"What if you don't have enough for making salves and elixirs in the upcoming term though?" Michael asked and Evan was slightly amused by the genuine look of worry on his Uncle's face.

"Then I can just order more."

"Fine, fine. I'll get two jars—just in case," Michael told the shop keeper. "We will also get two of the latest editions of _Potions Quarterly_,if you have them." The clerk began ringing up Michael for the purchases, so Evan went to busy himself with looking at some of the dried thyme they had on display. Unconsciously, he began sizing up the shops' dried thyme with the ones he and his Uncle had dried themselves, back at Valerian. With a small grimace, he realized he actually would enjoy this subject as much as his Uncle did one day.

A stream of light and the sound of voices interrupted the sounds of the clerk rummaging through a stack of magazines as new customers walked in the door. The shopkeeper greeted them and let them know he would be with them in a minute. Evan wondered if he could actually talk to his Uncle about getting some dried thyme to compare to the ones they had at home, the main annoyance with the salamander eggs were that they could not open the jars here so it seemed pointless—

Evan's mental tirade stopped as the owners of the two voices that had just walked through the door came closer to him, so much so that he could hear what they were saying.

"Don't be silly, Sev. I think you can substitute a crocodile heart for two scales of a venomous snake and a couple of drops of dragon's blood in some potions," a girl's voice argued.

Evan found himself frozen to the spot. This was not like earlier when he knew he would encounter his father and Sirius in the quality quidditch supply store. Earlier there had been Mrs. Potter to focus his attention on. He just couldn't step into their conversation without seeming like a weirdo. He could not explain the pulsating need to get to know his mother and Snape. Maybe it was because no one had ever really told him about his mother, besides Slughorn and Snape…

"I am not debating your hypotheses, Lily. Just on the availability and expense of the items you wish to substitute them for—oh excuse me sir—anyway, if you were to substitute the two items it would no doubt increase the potency of your potion—" the younger voice of his once hated potion's master, drifted off and he could just register the fact that the two were still talking, but could no longer make out the words they were saying.

At this point Evan took a chance to look up to see two heads of hair, one dark red, one black, discussing some potions ingredients in voices that would be considered respectably low enough for use in the quiet dingy shop. Evan was going to try and maybe sneak a bit closer to hear what exactly the two were talking about. He would take anything new he could try to learn about his mother at this point, but then he caught eyes with his Uncle.

"It's time to go." Michael's usually impassive face, held an emotion that Evan couldn't pinpoint. Michael's face had hardened and if Evan hadn't spent the last couple of months watching the man, he would have missed the tormented sadness that seemed to simmer behind his Uncle's eyes.

With one last look at the pair in the shop, Evan followed his Uncle out back into the Alley.

The two walked back down the alley towards the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. There was a small alcove that allowed the two to duck into before Michael could safely apparate them back to Valerian.

The man looked close to tears, or something akin to a breakdown. In all the time that he had spent in 1975, the closest he had seen his Uncle to losing it was when he had trespassed into his memories. Even when that had happened, Michael had sort of shut down his emotions. This time the man looked… broken, almost.

"I'm sorry. For leaving so quickly like that," Michael rasped out. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. He looked critically at Evan for a moment, as if deciding what to say. He must have made some sort of decision, for he started talking again. "I'm sorry, I just don't think I could… it hasn't happened for you yet… but they…" This time Michael shook his head in resignation. "You'll understand one day," he stated with a sad smile.

Evan, completely confused by the nonsensical words coming out of his Uncle's mouth, just nodded.

"Right, stay here. I have a surprise for you."

Completely confused by his Uncle's behavior, Evan decided the best course of action would be to just stay and wait for his Uncle to return. He did take out some of the shrunken objects from his pocket and banished them to the living room to be sorted out later.

Thankfully, Evan did not have to wait for too long, for Michael arrived back promptly and was standing in the doorway to the kitchen. The smile on his face was of someone who had done something quite mischievous and had gotten away with it.

"Right, I know we didn't really celebrate your birthday seeing as how it is in May while you are in this time, but I know you still stayed awake until midnight on your birthday evening in July." Evan blushed and looked away. He did feel silly for doing it on his birthday every year but…

"Don't worry, I still do." Evan snapped his head back up in time to see Michael with a soft sort of smile. "It's tradition," the older man simply stated.

"But it's August now," Evan said pointing out the obvious.

"Well your birthday present wasn't exactly available yet… you have also been working so hard and you do deserve a break." Michael reached into the kitchen where Evan couldn't see and pulled out two oddly familiar looking brooms.

"Are those..?"

Michael smirked as he mounted one of the brooms and flew over to Evan with what could only be described as elegant laziness.

"Now it won't be as smooth of a ride as the Firebolt, you'll find you may need more muscle control in this broom." Michael held out the _Nimbus 1700_.

As Evan took the broom into his hands, he asked the question that had been plaguing him for some time. "How can we afford all this?"

Michael just laughed, as if Evan's concern came from left field.

"You save a lot. Now come on, when was the last time you flew for fun?" Michael questioned as he soared higher into the air.

With a smile, Evan mounted his broom as well and followed Michael into the air. Michael was right, while the _Firebolt_ had responded to his lightest touch, the _Nimbus 1700_, needed precise control in order to move the broom in the direction he wanted.

He followed his Uncle and they flew around inside the wards around Valerian. Merlin, how he had missed flying! The wind rustling through his hair, the love of having nothing beneath him, the sheer joy of knowing it was just him, his magic and a broom, soaring through the air, enjoying a moment.

After several warm-up laps, Michael showed up next to him and pulled out a practice snitch from his pocket.

"Up for a couple of rounds?"

Evan nodded enthusiastically in response, to which Michael released the Snitch. After giving it a five minute head-start the two set out after the small golden ball in a battle of old versus young.

* * *

There was a faint knock at the door to his bedroom. Evan looked up from packing his trunk to see his Uncle standing by the small door opening to his room.

"Everything packed up for tomorrow?" Tomorrow was September the first. Tomorrow was the day he had been training for since May, the first time he would be on his own without his Uncle watching his back.

"For the most part, I just need to put in the books from the fates and then I'm all set for tomorrow." Evan gestured to the three books on his desk.

"I'd recommend placing those in the bag they came with. There is some sort of charm that even I have not been able to place after many years, that enables you to be the only one to open the bag."

"Oh." To be found with such specific books on medicinal magic and snakes could lead to some awkward questions. Evan chastised himself silently for not thinking of such preventative measures beforehand. He went to his wardrobe and pulled the bag off the top shelf and placed the books inside.

"Knut for your thoughts?" Michael asked as he walked in and sat on the bed.

"It all just feels so... surreal. Like tomorrow I am not going to Hogwarts." Evan sat on the floor next to his trunk and pulled his knees in so his chin could rest on top of them. "For one thing, this is possibly one of the best summers I have ever had. Not to mention tomorrow won't be filled with lots of rushing about with a certain red-headed family. It feels…" Evan couldn't find the right word to end his sentence with, 'wrong' didn't seem to fit. "Off-putting," he finished lamely.

"It's okay to miss them, Evan. It used to be you three against the world, and I am not going to lie, it's going to suck not having them around…but if it helps…" Michael reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a photo Evan had never seen before. Michael passed it over and Evan took a long look at the people he had not seen in what felt like so long.

It had been taken right before Scrimgeour had shown up unceremoniously at his birthday dinner, the day before the Bill and Fleur's wedding. The photo was black and white and portrayed him—the real him—Ron and Hermione as the center with random Weasley family members coming by to talk to the photo's centerpiece at random intervals. Evan barely remembered the photo being taken.

"I know you three don't look extremely happy in this picture—" Michael was right. While they were smiling at the camera, they all held the look of holding something extremely heavy that they weren't quite ready for on their shoulders. "—but it was the most recent one I could grab. It has a charm on it so that if anyone who doesn't know the people in the picture looks at it, all they will see is a blank photograph. However, I would still recommend keeping it in the bag and only taking it out when you are alone."

"Thank you." Evan put the photo in the bag. There was reflective silence that hung in the air. "Are you going back?" Evan didn't need to say where, they both knew.

"I have some research to do while here. I have to return before we left, so I will not go back to my correct time until May."

"But, waiting all that time? Won't it get boring? Won't the anticipation of not knowing whether or not—"

Michael put up a hand to stop him. "I will arrive at the same time in the future no matter what." Michael got up from his bed and headed to the door and said something so softly, that Evan barely caught it. "If there is one thing I have learned how to deal with over the years, it's waiting."

Michael closed the door and left Evan alone with his thoughts for the remainder of the evening.

The next morning started like every other before that. Evan woke up, put on his running gear, (and) met his Uncle in the kitchen for some water and cheese. They ran their three miles (which had gotten incredibly easier over time and Evan found himself thoroughly enjoying the runner's high that came with it), came back to Valerian where they sat in the calming environment of the cottage's backyard and meditated. He showered and dressed, and that day Michael had him wear dark, flared muggle jeans and a black t-shirt. He made breakfast, and read the paper with his Uncle, but instead of reviewing pureblood mannerisms that morning they went over his Occlumency shields and his ability to hold the glamour on his magical ability.

"The portkey I have arranged for us activates at ten, that's in about five minutes, you sure you have everything?" Evan gave an affirming nod and looked around Valerian for the last time in who knew how long. "Don't worry, you will be back here next summer. I know you will be able to get along by yourself, and if the time comes you will know how to invite people in," his Uncle said, answering the questions he didn't even know he had.

It was not long before Evan felt the familiar pull on his navel and the two were off spinning to some non-descript corner of King's Cross station.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," Evan said with a grimace as he stood. Michael handed him a black leather jacket.

"Well it was this or a train into King's Cross and I figured since you would be spending almost a whole day on a train, portkey might be the best choice."

"Good point."

The two moved from the corner Michael had had the portkey take them to, and ventured out into the busy train station.

"So what's with the bad boy get—oh my goodness." While Evan knew they were in 1975, but they had not really ventured into muggle 1975. Suddenly he was incredibly grateful to be wearing the dark muggle trousers and jacket. He watched as women walked by in long flowing skirts, waist-high flared pants and flowing tops in varying shades of mustard-yellow, orange and blue. The men's get-ups also featured flowery dress shirts and suits in dark brown and that odd orange color.

"I thought you would prefer this outfit over some of the other current styles these days," Michael said with an amused grin as he cast a feather light charm on Evan's trunk and the two set out to find a cart.

The two set out and Evan was trying his best to just walk through the crowd without openly staring at the people. While Evan knew that they had travelled in time, seeing muggle life was kind of making it more real in a way. More tangible. The two found a cart, placed his trunk upon it and made their way to the correct platform.

"I think the reason most wizards have trouble looking incognito in muggle society, is the fact that muggle fashion changes so often. Wizards fashion will only ever show slight changes, usually because of influence from the muggle world, but not too often," Michael murmured as they passed two girls with scarves covering the top half of their heads.

As they passed platform seven, Evan felt something he had only been trained in detecting because Michael refused to perform it. Dark Magic. He could actually feel the magic in his body squirming unpleasantly as it recognized the evil intent of the other magic. While Michael had described the sensation, Evan found the overwhelming tingling of dark magic in the air repulsive, yet it didn't make him feel sick. It was as Michael had described—he knew it was uncomfortable, and his body didn't like it, but it didn't make him feel terrible. It was an odd sensation, knowing something was bad and feeling the side effects, but not being completely affected by the sensations. It was like hiding emotions behind his shields, he knew they were there but he didn't have to experience them at that exact moment.

"Don't worry. Your estranged brother isn't here, just his friends," Michael spoke quietly in his ear as he knelt to pick up a piece of paper off the ground. "Just scouting for some fresh talent. I don't think they'll approach anyone today. Don't want to cause a scene do they?"

Translation: the death eaters are here to look to see if any new potentials are in the crowd. Voldemort wasn't stupid enough to attack the school that was training new recruits for him.

"Probably not in their best interest," Evan responded, conveying that he understood what his Uncle had been saying.

The two kept up their trek to Platform 9¾, but as they walked, Evan and his Uncle were discreetly looking for the death eaters that could be in the crowd.

"Would you like to enter first?" Michael asked as they arrived in front of the barrier.

"Why not." Evan slowly walked up to the brick wall and was surprised to see that he could see the layers of spells on it, designed to hide the platform and so that muggles would not notice what was happening. As he walked through, he couldn't help but wonder how often he would be surprised by how much he had learned over the summer.

He took in the sight of that large scarlet steam engine that he had ridden many a time before. There were a couple of families there already, but not too many. After all, it was only ten past ten at the moment. Michael appeared beside him a moment later and looked almost relieved at the small crowd.

"Come on, I'll help you find a compartment," Michael said as he walked towards the train. Evan nodded as he followed his Uncle towards the back of the train. The two lifted the trunk onto the train and had a relatively easy time picking out a compartment as nearly every single one was open. Evan ended up deciding to take the last compartment on the train with a window that was facing the station. He noted that a few more families had arrived, but it was nowhere near as crowded as he had remembered it being.

Michael and Evan looked at one another for a moment and the next thing Evan knew he was being hugged by the older man. Startled, Evan just stood there for a moment and before he could return the hug Michael had removed himself and placed his hands on Evan's shoulders. Michael was only a couple of inches taller than him so Evan didn't have to strain to look into the older man's blue eyes.

"Good luck in your studies," Michael said and stood to his full height. He reached into his jacket, pulled out two editions of _Potions Quarterly_ and passed them on over. "Some reading material for the train." As if that was all the explanation that was needed for the moment.

Evan took the magazines and sat down next to the window, facing forward.

"Michael, thanks… for everything," Evan stated to the retreating figure at the compartment door.

Michael turned around and smiled. "Your welcome, Evan." He moved to leave again but Evan stopped him once again.

"Getting here so early… was that more for you, than me?"

Michael froze for a moment. "Forgive an old man for not wanting to deal with crowds."

"You're not old," Evan said with an eye roll.

"Remember to focus on your studies, all of them. I'm not saying don't participate in extra-curricular activities, but some may be best left as a hobby. You have enough on your plate as it is."

"I understand."

With a nod Michael left the compartment and it was moments before Evan saw him outside his window waving, before he disappeared. The station was filling up with more families and teenagers meeting up after their summer holidays, and watching the excited hugging and joyous smiles of being reunited with friends made Evan ache for Ron and Hermione, so instead of watching the platform for familiar faces, he turned to the first potion magazine.

As he opened to the first page he realized his uncle never clearly answered his question as to why they had arrived at the station so early. Evan really wished he understood the older man more. A sudden thought invaded his mind, would he ever see Michael again?

As if in answer to his question, a piece of parchment floated down out of the magazine. Evan picked it up and laughed quietly under his breath.

_Don't worry, you'll see me again before I move._

As Evan got a quill out from his trunk so he could make notes in the magazine, he figured he would never really understand his Uncle.

So Evan began to read his magazine and began making small notes in the margins here and there. He didn't notice the time pass, nor did he notice when the train began to move for he was far too absorbed in his magazine.

The compartment door opened and a voice swore.

Evan snapped his head up at the sound of someone entering the compartment and felt the wave of a concentration charm flow off of him. Why, that sneaky old man! He put a charm on that magazine that wouldn't allow his focus to waver off of it, until what Evan guessed was the sound of the compartment door opening again.

As Evan cursed his crafty old Uncle, than looked up to see who had come into the compartment.

"Oh, hello," Evan said dumbly.

Fifteen-year-old Severus Snape, already dressed in his Hogwarts uniform raised one black eyebrow at him.

"Everywhere else is full. Do you mind?" Snape drawled out, in what seemed to be a voice that was trying to seem confident, but some nervousness at being rejected leaked through.

"Of course not, go right ahead."

Severus gave him another odd look before dragging his trunk inside the compartment.

"Here let me help you with that," Evan said, standing up to help the other boy lift his trunk to the rack.

"Thanks," Snape said as he looked at him oddly once again.

"Oh! I—er, mean uh—Greetings in kind! I am Evan Michaels, eldest child of the house of the Michaels," Evan finished lamely as he stood up and put his hand out for young Severus to shake. Why did he have to make himself a fool in front of Snape? He had done fine with all his family members, but nooo, one moment in front of the intimidating (which he was even as a teenager) future potions master, and he was rendered a bumbling idiot.

Severus seemed even more confused by this action, but put his hand out to meet with Evan's outstretched one. "Kind greetings, I am Severus Snape, heir to the house of Prince." His warm hand met with Evan's for a few moments before he let go and sat down across from Evan.

Evan followed suit and soon there were two boys sitting in a compartment filled with a tension that Evan could not put his finger on exactly.

"Are you on the right train?" Snape asked him with a quizzical expression on his face.

"Er, yeah, the one to Hogwarts, right?" At Snape's nod he continued. "I'm transferring in this year."

"Huh, it's been awhile since they allowed a transfer in," Snape commented.

To save himself from any further embarrassment, Evan opened up his _Potions Quarterly_ to hide himself in.

"You're reading _Potions Quarterly_?" Snape asked in a skeptical voice.

"Er—yeah," Evan replied while silently cursing his magazine for failing him as a shield.

"Do you actually understand what you're reading?" Snape asked in a slightly pompous tone.

Evan rolled his eyes. "Of course I don't. I'm only fifteen." At Snape's questioning gaze he continued. "I make notes with my quill on the things I don't understand or that I want to look up later." After quickly scanning the articles to make sure he had made no references to incidents in the future, he opened to the first article and passed it over to Snape. "See?"

Snape took the magazine and started reading the article, his face turned from confused skepticism to concentration. At first Evan thought the concentration charm had not worn off as he had previously thought, but Snape broke his thought process by asking for a quill.

Evan passed over his quill and watched as Snape took out his wand and muttered a charm on his quill. He then proceeded to make marks on the magazine just as Evan had done. After ten minutes, he finished the article, went back to the beginning, read through it again, then stood up and sat down in between Evan and the window, all business-like.

"Right, I hope you don't mind, but I made some notes too," Snape said as if the thought that Evan might be upset that he had marked the magazine up as well just crossed his mind.

"So this article was talking about how the lunar cycles affect raising ingredients in general. Here you noted," Snape said pointing to a paragraph, "that you were not sure what 'luna circuitus', referred to. Honestly, it really is just a stuffy way of saying moon cycles. Not a lot of masters write it like that anymore, but Frekole still does. It's what makes his articles harder to read more often than not." Snape went on to explain some of the other (what he called) 'pretentious' words in the article.

Evan read through the article once again and found it was much easier to understand with Snape's corrections.

"Thanks, that saved me a trip to the library. I really appreciate it," Evan said with a smile and Snape turned away from his gaze, a bit of the afternoon light making his face appear a bit pink in places. He turned back to Evan, with a half-smile and opened his mouth to ask a question—

The compartment door opened with a bang causing Evan to jump in his seat. "Oh you would not believe him! I swear to—Oh! Hello."

Evan looked up into a pair of startled, exceedingly familiar almond shaped green eyes.

_Tbc…_

Bwahahah! There is where the chapter shall leave off! I hope you all enjoyed it. I also notice I haven't really spoke of when I will be updating this story and I would like to let you all know, that I am going to try and update once a week *knocks on wood*.

Hopefully this plan will succeed.

Anywho, that pretty shiny review button is calling out for your opinion, I think you should give in and go ahead and press it already!

-BongoMonkeys


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Here is chapter six! Sorry I did not have it up earlier today, but it is still Friday for me so technically it is not late! I hope you all enjoy it!

Thanks to**Basil to Blithe, Fire-Metal-Horse17, M.T.**(Your reviews continue to be much too kind and leave a smile on my face :) I only hope you enjoy this chapter as much),** Alex, Murgy31, TearfullPixie, ckirkes2427, GoddessonmyKnees, Deby Magid, Bloody dawn**

Special thanks to Loren, for betaing. Also to Ginji(who continues to be an Awesome person and deals with my ranting over this story) and TomTom for listening. All remaining mistakes are my own. Which if you find, you are more than welcome to point out to me .

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and most likely never will.

Without any further ado, chapter six!

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter Six**

The compartment door opened with a bang, causing Evan to jump in his seat. "Oh, you would not believe him! I swear to—Oh! Hello."

Evan looked up into a pair of startled, exceedingly familiar almond-shaped green eyes.

Evan heard an amused snicker to his right and saw Snape hiding a laugh with his hand. "Honestly Lily, you say _I_ burst into situations head first."

Evan made a move to stand, so he could introduce himself, but before he could get up from his seat, Snape's voice filled the compartment.

"Michaels, this is my best friend Lily Evans. Lily this is Evan Michaels. He's a transfer student."

"Nice to meet you," Lily said as she held out her hand. Evan successfully stood this time around and shook her hand. As he did, he felt some kind of strange warmth pass through his body, along with an overwhelming feeling of guilt for some strange reason, so he averted his eyes from Lily. In doing so, he missed the strange look that crossed her features. The two let go.

"You too." Lily sat across from the two boys and she and Snape seemed to have some sort of silent conversation that left Evan wondering why Snape was so intent on introducing them… While Evan may have displayed his manners a bit awkwardly, they were still traditional.

Oh.

Evan silently chastised himself for forgetting his mother was muggle-born. Snape had been trying to save Lily from an awkward introduction. Mentally smacking himself upside the head, he realized that Lily was asking him a question.

"So where are you transferring from?" Lily asked conversationally.

"Just a private home school."

"Do you know what house or year you'll be in?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm going to be a 5th year, in Slytherin house."

"That's exciting! Sev and I are in 5th year too. I'm in Gryffindor, though," she said with a smirk in Snape's direction. For the first time in the conversation, Evan noticed that she was wearing her Hogwarts uniform as well, with her shiny Prefect pin on the front.

"Michaels was—"

"Honestly, Sev if you're going to be year mates—" she threw Snape a look, then turned to Evan "—you can call me Lily, by the way if you got Sev to actually speak to you it means you've managed to hold his interest instead. He usually just shoves his nose in a book and deems that everyone else is," Lily made a face, while trying to speak the next part in an imitation of Snape's voice, "is far too incompetent to make any kind of attempt to hold an intellectual or worthwhile conversation with." Her strange imitation of that dark voice was oddly amusing. She began speaking again in her own voice. "So, if you can hold Sev's interest we should all be able to get along just fine. What were you talking about, anyway?" She didn't talk as fast as Hermione did sometimes, but her words moved out of her mouth faster than the average person.

Snape shot her an annoyed look for the imitation. "Michaels' copy of Frekole's article in the second to newest edition of _Potions Quarterly_," Severus said as he passed Lily the magazine.

"Did you make notes yet?" She asked with hopeful eyes.

"Yes, Lily."

"Thank goodness." Relief graced her pleasing features. "Mind if I read it as well?" she asked Evan, gesturing with the magazine that was in her perfectly manicured hands.

"Go ahead," Evan replied and watched as the teenager with dark red hair and green eyes read the same article that he and Snape had just moments ago.

"Give her ten minutes," Snape said quietly. "She's a pretty fast reader and she likes to go through things twice, to make sure she has it right."

"So what are classes like at Hogwarts?" Evan asked.

Snape outlined the basic things that Evan knew already, for instance that some classes were taken together with a different house, what meals were like, he was just about to go into description of the library when Lily interrupted.

"I've finished," she announced, passing the magazine back to Evan.

"Thoughts?" Snape prompted.

"Frekole is a pompous, potions master who has inhaled fumes for far too long."

"Always a correct statement," Snape replied with a smirk. "Thoughts on the content?"

Lily paused and seemed to think. "I understand the article, but not the need for such an article. I mean we were taught about a lot of this in first year." She then turned to Evan. "Sorry, we tend to do this after we both read an article. What did you think of it, Evan?"

"I enjoyed it, minus the unnecessary language. I like the discussion of the why some ingredients are affected in growth by the moon cycles. But I would like to see an article that talks about why some ingredients need to be picked at certain cycles."

"That would be a good article too, personally I think…" Snape began his own interpretation of the article and he and Lily listened and retorted.

It was strange in way. When he was with Ron and Hermione, it was always Hermione explaining things for him and Ron. He hadn't thought that actually reading and discussing a subject could be… fun. He made a silent vow to have discussions with Hermione in the future.

By the time they had talked through two more articles, the sun was beginning to set.

"You best get your school robes on, we'll be arriving soon," Lily said to Evan. She grabbed Snape's hand and pulled him out into the hallway so Evan could change.

Beyond the door he could hear some whispering, but shrugged it off. The brunette changed into his school robes quickly and by the time he finished the knot on his Slytherin tie, the Hogwarts express came to a stop in Hogsmeade station.

He opened the door to the compartment and saw Snape giving Lily an annoyed look, while she looked rather pleased with herself.

"Come on Evan, you'll ride in our carriage," Lily said, leading the way off the train.

Remembering that he wasn't supposed to know how things at Hogwarts worked, he asked "Carriage?"

"Hagrid, the gamekeeper, takes first years across the Lake in boats. Rejoice in the fact that you will not embark on such a physically exhausting way of reaching the castle."

As if to back up the statement, Evan heard Hagrid's cry of "Firs' years this way" off in the distance.

"Don't listen to Sev, Evan. It really is a lovely view."

"Yes, I delight in all means of transportation that involve freezing to the bone," Snape said, his soft voice dripping with sarcasm. "After that preposterous way of reaching the castle, all upper years arrive in carriages."

"Carriages pulled by magic, Sev."

"Something else is pulling the carriages too, Lily." As they walked through the hordes of people on the platform, towards the carriages Snape continued. "I will find out what they are one day."

"I'm sure you will Sev," Lily said as she patted Snape's back. Evan put on a smile, so that to the random passerby it would appear as if he was amused by their interactions. Inside, he felt nothing but sadness for them. For he knew all too soon, they would be able to see the threastles pulling the carriage.

Evan wondered if it was some kind of unspoken rule, that to be able to talk about the threastles means you had to be able to see them. Well this was a children's school, not many of the attendees were supposed to see the creatures.

The three got into a carriage with two younger Ravenclaws. The journey up to the castle was not as talkative, mostly just Snape and Lily murmuring tidbits to him about school as the carriages made the journey to the castle.

Once they arrived, Evan made sure he was the last to leave the carriage so he could quietly tell the creature thank you and give it small pet upon it's wide neck. He felt bad for the creatures no one wanted to approach because of the negative connotations attached to them.

"Michaels, what are you doing, we're supposed to be inside before the first years get here," Severus called.

Evan ran to catch up with him and Lily and the three made their way up the steps and into the castle, where Evan saw a familiar round professor at the top. He squashed the initial feeling of wishing to try and hide behind something.

"Ahh Miss. Evans and Mr. Snape! How were your summers?" Slughorn asked jovially.

"I had a fantastic summer, thank you Professor Slughorn."

"I see you made Prefect, well done Miss. Evans!" Slughorn chortled. "I knew you had it in you. I was sad to hear you turned down the position, Mr. Snape. But I understand why," Slughorn said in what Evan assumed to be sympathy as Snape seemed to blush under Slughorn's scrutiny.

"Are you, by chance, Mr. Evan Michaels?" Slughorn asked, addressing him for the first time.

"Yes, sir."

"Yes, Dumbledore told me he was allowing a transfer in this year, you should feel honored."

"I am, very much so, sir."

"I am your head of house, Professor Slughorn. I was sent down to make sure you got to the feast okay and assign you a guide. However, I see you are already in capable hands. Mr. Snape, will you make sure that Mr. Michaels finds his way to the dormitory and all his other classes? That is until he finds his own way, of course."

"Yes, sir. He seems competent enough to be taught," Snape said, with what Evan assumed to be sarcasm as Lily gave a chastising smile his way.

"Now, now Mr. Snape we shouldn't judge people based on your comprehensive standards," Slughorn said with a small chuckle. "I do hope you learn to interpret Mr. Snape's version of humor faster than I did," he said to Evan.

"I think Severus was being slightly sincere this time, Professor. Sev and I were discussing Frekole's latest article on lunar activity with Evan on the train," Lily said in defense of him or Snape. Which one of them he didn't know.

Slughorn's eyes sparkled. Uh oh. Evan had seen that glint in Slughorn's eyes before.

"Oh, is that so? Tell me my boy, what did you think of Frekole's article?" Slughorn said merrily as he ushered Evan into the entrance hall, Lily and Snape trailing behind them.

So Evan had a second discussion on Frekole's opinion of the moon and potions ingredients, except this time he feared this would warrant an invitation to a certain gathering.

By the time they had reached the Slytherin table in the great hall, Slughorn was delighted with Evan.

"Oh, best let you boys get seated for the feast. I am sure I will see you both soon!" Slughorn went on his merry way to the staff table and Snape took Evan to a place on the table that was close to the empty space that was left for the first years after they were sorted.

Of course, Evan wasn't supposed to know what in the world that encounter was about, so he looked at Snape with what he hoped was confusion.

"What in Merlin's beard was that about?"

"You should thank Lily, that was some quick thinking on her part."

"Huh?"

"Slughorn has this club. He calls it, with pride mind you, the 'Slug Club'. Everyone knows about it. He fills it with people he thinks will be talented in various aspects from each year, been doing it for ages. Both Lily and I are in it, so are some others from our year. The meetings can be a bit boring at times but you get to meet some interesting people. Besides, you can make invaluable connections that will enable you to get incredible jobs once you graduate," Snape explained.

Some more kids filtered their way into the great hall and began sitting about the tables. A large tanned boy with dark sandy brown hair and brown eyes came and sat down next to Snape.

"How was your summer, Severus?"

"Same year, different shit. You know how it goes," Snape said, shrugging. Evan made a mental note that Snape was trying to display some kind of smugness to this new kid.

The other boy seemed to be amused by this and gave a chuckle. "Who's the new kid?" he asked pointing at Evan.

"Transfer student." Snape shrugged.

If Evan had not been trained in Pureblood manners, he would have interrupted the conversation; however tradition stated that when two wizards were speaking, and one was a stranger, one did not enter the conversation until one was directly introduced to the stranger by the wizard one was previously acquainted with.

"Where from?"

"Not sure, exactly. What was your schooling before this, again?" Snape asked him.

"Home-schooled." Evan could play this game just as well as the other boy.

By then most of the table, save for the new first-years, had been seated and it seemed they were waiting for McGonagall to bring them in.

"Right, in case anyone was wondering," Snape said, loud enough for most of the people in the vicinity to hear, "This is Evan Michaels, he is a fifth year and he has transferred to Hogwarts and has been sorted into our house."

Evan saw what Snape was doing now, he introduced him to the lot at once, so now if they wanted to meet him, they would have to come up and do it themselves.

"Right Michaels, I'm Franz Mulciber and that there's Oliver Ganter," the brown-haired boy said while gesturing to the blonde boy who was sitting across from him.

Evan gave a polite nod of his head and murmured his kind greetings, to which he got in return.

"You're an odd one, you know that?" Snape asked him.

Evan smiled and shrugged.

The hall grew quiet as McGonagall entered with frightened-looking first years in tow.

Evan half-paid attention to the sorting, but made sure to appear enraptured by the whole affair. Instead of watching first years get sorted, he was paying attention to the hierarchies in the different houses. In his house it seemed a burly looking, what Evan assumed to be a 7th year with amber eyes and dark skin made most of the decisions. While Mulciber seemed to be more outspoken, it was Ganter who wore the Prefect's badge for the fifth year. At the Hufflepuff table, a curly-haired blonde girl wore the head girl's badge, but none of the other Hufflepuffs seemed to care for her too much. Ravenclaw was where the Headboy was seated. He looked to be a bit pompous with his brown hair gelled so that not a hair was out of place.

And last but not least, the Gryffiindors. Evan noticed that his father and Sirius sat on the same side of the table while Remus and Wormtail sat opposite them. Lily was sitting a couple of seats down and was talking to a pale girl with straight brown hair who Evan assumed was her best friend.

Before Evan could take note of any other students, the sorting ended.

"Now before I allow us all to make our waist-bands a bit tighter, I have a few start of term reminders," Dumbledore said, standing. "I will remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is not for students to explore. Our caretaker has asked me to remind you all that many of Zonko's products are not allowed on school property. If you wish to see the full list, it is in his office. Also note, that all school clubs must be registered with an overseeing faculty member. The only other thing I must say is: flibbity-gibbet! Now let us tuck in." With that Dumbledore sat back down and began to engage Flitwick in conversation.

Evan clapped along with the rest of the students and feigned surprise when the mass amounts of food appeared on the table.

Evan helped himself to more food than he was used to eating. He and his Uncle had always plated their food before they started eating, thus ceasing the tendency to overeat. Evan spoke with some of his fellow classmates about what to expect in the year. He noticed that some of the boys lied about the content of the classes, but did not say anything. Evan just took everything they said with cool indifference, leaving it up to them to decide if he believed what they were saying or not.

When it seemed everyone was too tired from eating (or the mild sleeping draught that was laced in the food, Evan figured this was mostly so that the first years could fall right asleep on the first night—sneaky man, Dumbledore) did Dumbeldore rise from the head table and announce that it was time to sing the school song.

Evan was amused to see that Snape was just as excited to sing the school song as he was when Evan first saw him sing it when Evan had been 11 years old.

Snape sang the song, under his breath to the tune of some classic Beatles song. Most of the Slytherins around him all seemed to do the same. This was not the case over at the Gryffindor table.

From across the hall Evan could see that James and Sirius had planned some sort of dance number complete with sparklers shooting off house colors and Wormtail and Remus playing the part of backup dancers. Wormtail was playing his part eagerly, thrilled to be a part of something, completely opposite of Remus who was participating, but looking slightly mortified to be engaging in such a production.

Evan was certainly not the only one to see the theatrics. Half of the hall seemed amused by the antics of the four, Dumbledore included (who later awarded them five points for school pride). Evan was slightly surprised to see that Lily seemed completely annoyed by the situation and was doing her best not to look at the spectacle behind her. He watched as she made eye contact with Snape who smirked at her, to which in return she did a pantomime of taking poison, choking and collapsing onto the table. Evan found himself snickering with Severus at his mother's overdramatic display of annoyance. Evan wondered if she saw how much she and James had in common.

"Hey Severus, password is Ahenum," Ganter called over to the dark-haired boy. Snape said his thanks for letting him know the password.

The four Gryffindors were last to finish with a boom as fireworks appeared in the shape of the Hogwarts crest.

There was a fair amount of applause as Dumbeldore sent them all off to bed.

Evan watched as Ganter rounded up most of the first years, with Mulciber sticking close by, eyeing them down. It seemed he would need to pay a bit more attention to that dynamic. Whether Mulciber could boss Ganter around, or if it was the opposite may be important information for later.

Snape made a jerk with his head and Evan took it as an indication for him to follow. He got up from the Slytherin table and joined his appointed guide and the herd of students filing out of the hall. Somehow, whether Snape planned it or not, the two Slytherins met up with Lily in the throng of people waiting to exit the hall.

"Must they make spectacles of themselves, every flippin' year?" Lily complained to Snape.

"At least this year, there were no puppets. Those things haunted my nightmares for weeks," Snape replied with a sneer and smirk, which sent Lily into giggles.

Was Snape being serious about that? Had he really had nightmares? But Lily was laughing… Evan really needed to work on his ability to pick up on Snape's sarcasm.

The three made their way into the entrance hall and Lily said her goodnights and made a promise with Snape that he would stop by the Gryffindor table in the morning after they received their schedules. Evan assumed this was so the two could set up study time.

Evan, Snape and several other Slytherins trudged their way down to the dungeons. Evan made sure to keep looking around as they were walking, as if he was trying to memorize the way from the great hall to the castle.

"You know," Snape started to say when they were out of earshot from most of the Slytherins. He shook his head when Evan turned to face him. "Never mind. So what are the electives you signed up for?"

"Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

Snape looked hesitantly surprised and excited. "Those are my two electives as well. Lily is in Arithmancy too, but she takes Divination as her other elective." Snape finished the statement with a face that displayed his distaste for the subject.

"Don't put too much stock in the subject?"

"How many prophecies have you heard that actually happened?" Snape asked with an eye roll. "Rumor is that the Ministry has hundreds stored away somewhere, and they don't even know when most of them will be fulfilled."

Evan left his face as one of thought, while behind his shields he was laughing at the cruel irony of it all. "How is the divination teacher here?" Evan asked in the end.

"I'm not sure how accurate her readings are, but Lily is of the idea that she isn't as crazy as some Seers could be."

They came upon the stone wall that protected the Slytherin common room, and a cluster of what looked to be second and third years gathered around it, waiting for an older student with a password to let them in.

Snape stalked through them, and as Evan followed Snape he noticed that when the kids saw Snape coming they made a clear path for him. Whether it was because they were afraid of Snape or because they thought he knew the password, Evan didn't know.

"Ahenum," Snape said in that quiet voice that enabled only a few of the closest students to hear what he had said. Evan recognized the voice as one that Snape would perfect in the future; a sound just above a whisper that would be successful in captivating classrooms of children at once.

Snape silently lead him through the soft green glow of the stone common room filled with Slytherins chatting about their summer, to a set of staircases at the back of the common room. Snape led him up the staircases on his left hand side. The stairs had three different landings, Snape took them to the second one, down a small hallway to a door with 5th Year, written on it.

"Well this is it, home sweet home." Snape opened the door to the dormitory. While the boy's dormitory in Gryffindor tower had been circular, this one was rectangular in shape. There were six four-poster beds and desks aligning the walls. Four sets of the beds and desks were placed on the far wall, the head of the bed placed against the wall, so that the foot of the bed was placed into the center of the room. The side walls each had one bed and desk, the only difference was that the wall opposite of Evan held another door which Evan guessed lead to the bathroom.

There were small circular windows placed around the room that Evan assumed showed the lake.

"Oh, Severus, it's just you," said a dark boy with light blue eyes. He was sitting on the rug in the center of the room playing some card game with a brown-haired boy.

Evan stepped behind Severus and into the room. He found that his bed was the one closest to the door of the dormitory. Excellent.

"You're the new student aren't ya?" the brown-haired boy asked.

"Evan Michaels," Evan introduced himself with a low bow.

"I'm Victor Nott and that," the brown-haired boy gestured with his dark green eyes to the black boy playing cards with him, "that's Jaque Dowlin."

"Please, call me J.D." the dark boy stated with little formality.

"Right, J.D. and Nott, pleased to make your acquaintances." Evan gave another short bow and went over to his trunk. He took out his toiletries and went over to the bathroom to do his business for the evening.

By the time he came out of the bathroom, Ganter and Mulciber were back and had joined J.D. and Nott in their card game. On the bed closest to his was Snape reading their defense book for the year.

"Hey Michaels, you up for game of exploding snap?" asked one of the boys.

While Evan was more tired than he usually was at that time of night (he blamed the light sleeping potion in the food) and his four poster was calling out to him, however it would probably be a good idea to spend some time with the boys he would be spending the next couple of years with. He nodded and sat down next to Nott.

"C'mon Severus, if the new kid is playing you have to too."

"Come on, Snape," Evan said to him with what he hoped was an encouraging smile

Snape seemed skeptical at first but then let out a huff and joined the other boys on the floor in their card game.

* * *

Evan breathed in the cool morning air surrounding Hogwarts as he meditated by his favorite part of the lake. He had awoken at his customary time of 6:30, his body too used to waking up at the early hour to allow him to sleep in.

The first night at Hogwarts had been interesting to say the least. He was still having a bit of trouble figuring out the hierarchy of the Slytherin boys. It seemed as if Ganter ran things, but let Mulciber think he was the one in charge. J.D. and Nott didn't seem to really care that much and kept to themselves. Snape…

Evan took a deep breath and accepted the fact that his meditation for the morning was over. As he lightly jogged back to the castle doors he wondered why it was that when it came to that one person it was hard to keep his focus. Evan figured it was because he didn't really know the man at all. He was so good at playing parts that it made Evan want to know what was underneath that exterior.

As Evan came back in the Slytherin common room, he was surprised to see some of the older students milling about, waiting for their friends to go down to breakfast. Back in his room Evan went to get a change of robes from his trunk and noticed some less than perfect spell work on his trunk.

Running a silent revealing spell over the trunk wandlessly, Evan discovered it was a spell that would cause his hair to turn different colors throughout the day. Without faltering on his way over to the trunk, Evan dismantled the prank spell with ease. As he opened the trunk and got his robes out, he felt proud of for foiling his roommate's plans, as he sensed confused eyes following him.

When he came back into the dormitory after his shower, Snape was sitting on his own bed, nose in a book whose title Evan did not see.

"Are you ready to go down to breakfast?" Snape asked, not looking up from his book.

"Yeah." Evan picked up his book bag from his desk. Snape had packed up his book into his book bag by the time Evan had slung his own bag over his shoulder.

The two headed down the stairs and out the common room. When they were in the hall outside the common room, Snape turned to him, as if trying to figure something out.

"How did you sleep?" he eventually asked. Then he seemed to chastise himself for asking that.

"Err, okay."

"I ask because it seemed as if you woke up, well, rather early compared to other individuals our age."

Oh, Evan got where Snape was going with this. "I run every morning at 6:30, my body is used to getting up at that time."

"Oh, I see." Snape eyed him critically then continued walking. What did that mean?

"Were you reading school books already this morning?" Evan asked, teasing, hoping to lighten the tone of the conversation to a friendly one.

"No, I was reading Shakespeare."

Well that wasn't the answer Evan had been expecting. "Shakespeare?"

"I enjoy reading literature. I enjoy the way Shakespeare twists and turns his words around."

"Which play?"

"Tempest," Snape said.

"I haven't read that one. Well I haven't read much Shakespeare really, to be honest. I find it hard to follow the language." There was a pause. "Maybe I need you to translate it, like you did the article," Evan said in what he hoped was an uplifting teasing way.

"You and Lily, both dunder heads. Half the beauty of reading it is the artful way in which it is written."

"But it gets so confusing," Evan complained.

Snape gave him an annoyed smile and the two walked on to the great hall.

"You know, you can call me Severus," Snape said right as they were reaching the front doors. "I mean we are going to be residing in the same quarters for quite some time."

"Sure, Severus," the name felt foreign on his tongue, "same too." Snape gave him an amused glance. "I mean you can call me Evan," he babbled out.

"Thank you for the glorious opportunity."

Evan caught the amused sarcasm that time.

The two made their way over to the Slytherin table in the great hall. It felt strange after cooking all of his own meals over the summer, to just have gobs of food placed out before him. Evan felt he was going to miss cooking very soon. Even if it was slightly convenient to have all the food ready for eating, no preparation needed all set out nicely before him, there was something to be said about preparing your own food.

Snape and Evan were the first two from their year to sit down for breakfast that morning. Down the table a ways, Evan could make out a couple of older students and one or two younger ones who had also gotten up early for the first day of classes. Evan and Snape took the same seats that they did the night before and Evan set about serving himself some breakfast. This time he made sure to take smaller portions to stop himself from over eating.

"Morning boys," a voice said and Evan looked up to see Lily swinging her leg over the bench on the opposite side of Snape and Evan.

"Evan, did you know we sat down at the Gryffindor table this morning?" Snape said, turning to him. Lily rolled her eyes.

"I have no idea how that happened. I'm new so I don't know any better. I blame you for leading us to the wrong table," Evan said, catching on quickly.

"Heather is being a lazy bones this morning so I thought I would just catch up with your schedule now," Lily said as she grabbed a piece of toast.

"Ahh Ms. Evans! Supporting house unity!" Slughorn said merrily from behind Snape and Evan. "A point to Gryffindor! Mr. Evan and Mr. Snape here are your schedules for the semester." Slughorn moved down the table to deliver some schedules to some of the first years.

Evan looked down at his schedule.

_**Monday- History of Magic, Arithmancy, Lunch, Double Charms-Hufflepuff**_

_**Tuesday- Double Potions- Gryffindors, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lunch, Ancient Runes**_

_**Wednesday- Double Transfigurations- Ravenclaw, Arithmancy, Lunch, Double Charms- Hufflepuff**_

_**Thursday- Double Potions- Gryffindor, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Lunch, Ancient Runes,**_

_**Friday- Doube Transfigurations- Ravenclaw, Herboloygy, Lunch, Astronomy (will take place at 10 PM)**_

"Nice!" Lily's voice sounded excited. "We have Arithmancy together this year."

"Potions with the Gryffindors." Snape seemed unhappy and excited at the same time.

"Every year, like clock-work. Think Slughorn will pair us together again this year?" Lily asked Snape, her brilliant green eyes filling with excitement.

Snape seemed to repress a snort. "He better, not that it really is fair to anyone else."

"I think he rather enjoys having the two of us work together."

"Well of course, it gives him more bragging rights later."

"Sev, he's just proud of his students," Lily said with an eye roll that wasn't completely discounting what Snape had said. "Hey at least you guys have Binns right away on Monday."

"What does he teach?" Evan asked, joining the conversation for the first time.

"History of Magic, and it's terribly boring," Lily answered.

"Lily, I am surprised to hear that, from what I've heard you are not awake long enough to form an opinion."

"I can't help it! His voice is at just the right register that just puts me to sleep." Evan hid a small smile at the fact that it seemed to be a family trait to sleep through Binns' class.

"Lily, are you eating breakfast over here today?" Evan looked at the speaker. It was the girl who Evan had seen Lily speaking with at the welcoming feast.

"Antein," Snape said in a greeting that wasn't exactly friendly.

"Snape," the girl replied.

Lily rolled her eyes, as if used to these reactions from her two friends. "Heather this is Evan Michaels, by the way."

She smiled at him, her brown eyes reminding him of Ginny. Evan hid the pang of sadness that filled him and smiled as he said his correct how do you do's. Lily and her friend said goodbye and went to eat breakfast over at the Gryffindor table, giggling with each other. Evan set about eating his breakfast and tried not to think about Ginny. He had already accepted that he should just let those feelings go. After all, by the time he would see her again, he would be an old man. He vaguely remembered his future self saying something about falling in love, and he shook his head at the thought.

Evan didn't really have time for that right now; he had enough to worry about. He still didn't know what kind of snake Nagini was.

"So what is Binns like as a teacher?" Evan turned to face Snape, who was regarding him with some sort of strange, closed-off expression.

"I honestly haven't paid attention in that class since my first one." Sleeping in Binns' class may be family trait, but it seemed not paying attention in the class was a time-honored Hogwarts tradition.

"So does everyone fail his class?" Evan asked.

"Nah, I got third highest grade in the year for the exams last year," Snape explained as he took a sip of tea. "You just have to read the book, which can be dreadfully dull at times."

The rest of the boys from their year made their way to the breakfast table and talk turned to classes for the year as Slughorn passed out the rest of the schedules.

Once breakfast was finished, it was time to head to the history of magic class room. Snape and Evan left before the rest of their year, so Snape could give directions along the way. Along the way Snape hadn't mentioned that Binns was a ghost, so Evan was left wondering if Binns was still alive. The idea of taking a class from Binns while he was still alive felt strange.

Snape and Evan took seats at the back of the classroom, and took out parchment and quills. Snape also took out the book he had been reading earlier that morning. The way Snape set about the tasks gave Evan the feeling that the book was not brought along just in case Snape got somewhere early, this was routine getting to class early to sit alone and read.

"Do you normally get to classes early just to read?" Evan asked as he doodled on the side of his parchment.

Snape's dark eyes didn't leave the pages of the book. "I prefer the company of books."

Evan felt sadness towards the other teenager. He knew what that was like, how lonely it could be, that this wasn't usually done by choice. Before Hogwarts, when he didn't have friends, he had actually spent a lot of time making stories and reading books when the Dursleys had allowed it. Evan had worshipped books and reading about things that had taken him far away from the Dursleys. The habit had died out once he went to Hogwarts the first time. The whole idea of living in a magical world, much like that he had read of, had been wondrous enough. It seemed so far that the only person who had dragged Snape from his books was his mother. Evan got a sneaky feeling that besides Dumbeldore, she would be the only person that ever would.

It was in that moment of insight of the future potions master that Evan came to realize one of the ways he could pay back the stoic man for doing all he had done to protect him. He would befriend Severus Snape. He wasn't sure if he could do it, he really wasn't all that good with people, save Ron and Hermione and those two had just sort of attached themselves to him until he had accepted they weren't going to leave him. He could learn to be a good friend. He had learned patience and ways to hide emotions. This would help in not scaring the other boy off from the idea of them being friends.

As the rest of the Slytherins made their way into the classroom, Evan made a promise to himself that he would do all he could to ensure that Severus would not have to endure a lifetime of bitter emptiness.

_TBC…._

* * *

There was chapter six! I hope you liked it, and if you did, or even if you didn't feel free to make me a happy fan fic writer and press the beautiful review button and let me know :)!

Side note: I have been reading some stories where there is a next time in this part of the author notes, as a reader sometimes I like this and sometimes I don't. I was wondering if as readers, you would like a preview for the next chapter?

Until next week,

-BongoMonkeys


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So, this chapter is not completely betad, but I promised to update on Friday and I wanted to follow through on that! Just read at your own risk! On the note of beta's if anyone is interested I am looking for someone who is good at finding grammar and punctuation, just PM me if interested : ).

Also, I will be putting a small preview at the end of the chapters, but don't worry they won't give everything away ;).

Super special awesome love and thanks to: **KneazleGriff**( your reviews made my day!)**, ****A.E. Reed**(It hasn't been completely explained yet, but will be later in the story), **Mia Tun****, ****Fire-Metal-Horse17** (I agree that it is ingrained in Severus by this point, but Harry also has some problems he is going to need to work through)**, ****missme****, ****Deby Magid**(Soon, but not too soon!)**, ****TearfullPixie****, ****Puzzle Me This****, ****Cazzy****, ****Auelle****, ****ckirkes2427****, ****arisflame****, ****GoddessonmyKnees**( Thanks! That is basically what I am trying to accomplish!)

Seriously reviews make my day when I wake up at three in the morning (I work at a coffee shop) and I see all the pretty alerts and reviews! It makes waking up that early a bit easier! (I can't believe that this story is only 25 away from 100! It is the little things in life. Also this story is now officially the longest I have written O_o)

Also important thanks, that can never be said enough to Ginji, who deals with my random e-mails and messages, that are essentially me begging for advice and perspective. She's AWESOME.

Enough ramblings.

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter 7  
**

Becoming Severus Snape's friend was becoming a harder task than Evan had originally thought. It wasn't that he wasn't trying, he was, it was just that Snape didn't really seem to want to talk that much around anybody but Lily Evans. Yes, he spoke to the boys in their year and the four other girls in Slytherin that were in their year, hell he spoke to everyone! But it was never for too long and was usually always about school related things.

Evan was basically around the boy all the time, save for Wednesday nights when Evan had been going to the library to do more research on snakes. Where Snape was during this time, he had no idea.

Evan was thankful for his mediation and his newfound patience, otherwise he probably would groan out in frustration to the other boy and ruin all his plans. The worst part of it wasn't that Snape was rude to him either! Snape just treated him with the same indifference he showed to everyone else.

School had been in session for two full weeks, so yes it hadn't been that long, but he had thought Snape would warm up just a bit! The only time he ever got him to talk about anything really, was when he was having issues interpreting the language in an article. Snape didn't even sit down to discuss them unless Lily was present too. He chanced a glance over at his new found frustration and his mother who were discussing their potions chart in low voices acceptable enough for the library. As predicted the two had been paired as partners for the project for this term.

"What is the effect of the clovers on this potion again?" his partner for the project asked for the third time.

Evan looked over into the weary tired eyes of his potions partner, Remus Lupin.

"The clover acts as a thinning agent in this potion, because it is a sleeping draught. However, when in a salve the clover can act as an odor eliminator. How many leaves on the clover also can affect a potion, but we don't need to have the reasons in the chart." Evan patiently explained. He didn't have to feign his patience, today was the 20th of September, it was going to be a full moon tonight. Evan had tried to say they could have met on a different day but Remus was insistent on studying this Saturday.

Remus nodded and went back to looking over their chart. Being paired with Remus in potions had been incredibly unnerving at first, the man had been like a godfather to him, but he and teenage Remus had struck a tentative working friendship for the sake of their potions grade.

The rest of the marauders hadn't really sought out to tease Snape as much as Evan thought they would, whether the fact that he had been hanging around him all the time recently had anything to do with it, Evan didn't know. He looked down at the chart that he and Remus had been working on.

"I don't know, I'm going to go double check in another book." Snape's soft voice stole his attention. He watched as the dark-haired boy scooted the chair back in a silent, yet ungraceful manner and went over to the potions section.

"You planning on following him?" Remus' voice asked, in a slightly accusatory tone.

"What?" Evan sputtered out, the question catching him off-guard, while Lily looked over in silent shock.

"I mean you follow him around everywhere else. You probably spend more time with him, probably even more than Lily, and that's saying a lot." Remus continued despite Lily's chastising remark of 'Remus!'. "Even more than his little dark arts group, what in the world could you want from him? He's not very pleasant."

The last time Evan had been this upset with Remus, hadn't even happened yet, seeing as how it was going to occur about 20 years in the future.

"Remus! That's incredibly rude!" Lily whispered scathingly across the table.

"Lupin, I am not sure if it has come to your attention, but I am new to this school and Severus was one of the first people I had met. Him and Lily really. He was kind enough to show me around the school and has helped me with reading some articles that were hard for me to decipher. Why wouldn't I want to be his friend?" Evan said in a cold even voice.

"And that's what you want? Friendship?" Remus asked with a snort.

"What else would I want from someone who has only acted civilly, and been nice to me?" Evan retorted staring Remus in the eye.

There was a tense moment and Evan thought Lily might be looking back and forth between the two, not sure what to do. He didn't know though, he was intent on conveying whatever message that would stop Remus from acting like this again.

Something flitted over Remus' and he then looked incredibly embarrassed.

"Remus what's wrong with you?" Lily hissed across the table.

"I-"

"What isn't wrong with Lupin, is the more interesting question." Snape came back with a book and sat down next to Lily who sent him a mild glare.

Evan looked over to the young werewolf and came to the realization that he knew exactly what was wrong with him. He remembered vaguely that werewolves were like any other teenager and could act out, but in teen werewolves the behaviors tended to fluctuate with no rhyme or reason on the day of the full moon. Evan chastised himself for acting out so quickly. The behavior could present itself in adult werewolves as well, but the Remus he has known was on a regular batch of wolfsbane, which had not yet been invented.

"Look, Remus," the boy snapped his head up and Evan let out a sigh. There was no way he could try and tell Remus that maybe they should stop for the day, because he looked under-the-weather, without causing some small suspicion to arise. "let's just focus on the chart for now okay?"

Remus wearily nodded and the two groups worked quietly on their charts, until Remus left at two saying he had made plans with another group and left.

Lily gave a stretch and threw her quill on the table, which was followed by her collapsing onto the table as well as she let out a long exhale of air.

"The chart work was not that bad Lily." Severus chastised as he began packing his bag.

"I know, Sev. But I, like most normal people, get a bit stiff after sitting in a chair at the library for more than four hours." She sat back up and summoned her belongings to pack themselves neatly in her bag. "I'm off to go meet Heather, will I see you guys tonight?" She asked as she tossed her bag onto her shoulder and pushed in her chair. Her voice going slightly louder than library appropriate, earning some glares from a group of Ravenclaws two tables over. Snape and Evan finished packing their belongings quickly and followed Lily out of the library.

_Eugh_. Evan thought with annoyance, he had forgotten that the first Slug Club meeting was tonight, and just as Snape had predicted Evan had received an invitation.

Once outside the library Snape answered Lily's question. "You know I haven't a thing to wear besides my uniform."

"No one will care Sev," Lily said as she flicked her long red hair over her shoulder.

"You could borrow one of my robes." Evan offered and the two looked over at him. "What? Severus is only an inch or two taller than I am and I think they have some kind of growing spurt spell in the fabric."

"There now you both have to come! I'll see you tonight!" She waved with a smirk and headed off down the corridor that led to Gryffindor tower.

Snape sent him a glare and stocked down the opposite corridor towards the great hall.

"What?" Evan asked, jogging to catch up with Snape.

Snape stopped suddenly, causing Evan to almost run straight into his back. Evan took a step away as Snape turned around and those dark eyes bore straight through him.

"I don't get you." Was all he said after a moment. Evan decided this would be a good moment to stay quiet. Snape let out an impatient sigh. He grabbed Evan's arm and dragged him into a nearby classroom.

"What's with the relocation?" Evan asked as he sat down on a desk, while Snape leaned on one across from him.

"I don't fancy the idea of having conversations in corridors where anybody can walk by."

Evan gave a shrug. "Fair enough." He would let Snape dictate this meeting or conversation, whatever he wanted to call it.

There was a longer-than-average silence, where neither moved.

"Lupin, was right you know." Snape said quietly. Evan snapped his head over to the speaker who was still leaning on the desk, his face hidden by a curtain of black hair whose gaze appeared to be on his shoe that was rubbing at a seemingly random part of the stone floor. "I'm not a very pleasant person."

Evan decided this was an ok time for an interjection. "You've always been pleasent to me."

"Civil and pleasant are two vastly different things." Was the dry remark Evan received, he decided it best not to reply to that. "But you are friendly to most everyone, you have manners of the upper class, you could be friends with anyone else, really. Why do you keep hanging around me?"

Evan didn't understand people much, but it seemed to him that in order for him to be able to provide Snape with the friendship he had promised himself he would give to the other man, he would need to share a piece of himself first.

"Two reasons really." Evan looked at Snape who met his gaze. "The first one is simple, you remind me of someone, that I wished I had gotten to know better." There was no lie in the statement, pure fact. While the Snape standing before him was not the feared potions master he would be one day, there were still indicators that still reminded Evan of the man Snape would become.

"The second is more complex. I- While I may have the correct mannerisms of wealth- My parents did not have the means to provide me with clothing that ever fit correctly when I was a child. I was constantly talked about behind my back for having clothes that were too large and didn't match." Which was true, they couldn't have provided him with clothing, seeing as how they had died by that point. "They disappeared recently, just at the beginning of May" Evan saw the sympathy in Snape's eyes and looked to the window. "I know that they're gone." He said quietly. Now was when he would stretch the truth a bit.

"I –" Snape's voice started to say, but Evan held up a hand for him to stop.

"I was sent to live with my Uncle, whom I really hadn't known very well. He works a lot and lives alone. He didn't have the time to take me in so he sent me off here. He was able to give me new clothes and books and what not, but beyond that he didn't really know what to do with a 15 year old. I don't have anyone really." The truth of the last statement resounded through Evan.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Came Snape's quiet voice.

Evan let out a bitter smile. "It's alright how would you have known? I don't really like talking about it much, its all a bit fresh."

There was a minute's silence.

"So these robes of yours, with the fancy charms...?"

"Stuff my Uncle bought me."

"What colors do you have?" Evan snapped up his head to meet the tentative smile of acceptance that was on Snape's face.

"Why don't we grab some lunch and then I'll show you?" Evan asked hopping off of his desk.

"I really hope that there is more than just sandwiches for lunch today, I mean would it kill them to have something a bit more satisfying for lunch on the weekends?" Snape asked as they left the classroom. While things would not become buddy-buddy between them right away, Evan felt this was a step in the right direction.

* * *

"Ohh you came!" Evan watched with amused eyes as Snape was engulfed in a hug by a delightedly surprised Lily. "You look so smart too!" Lily said appraisingly as she walked around Snape, who blushed. Which Lily took as a sign to tease him further, so she nudged him with her elbow and waggled her eyebrows.

Snape did look different outside of school robes. He had chosen to wear the forest green set, while Evan took the pixie blue. Evan had even convinced him to tie the curtains of black hair back into a ponytail that sat at the base of his neck. Evan didn't really know what word best described Snape at the moment, but he supposed smart would do.

"You look lovely tonight as well, Lily." Snape said smoothly, changing the subject.

Lily beamed with the compliment, her dark red robes made her green eyes stand out, and demonstrated her support for her house, while not clashing with her hair.

The three made their way further into the party and Evan saw some of the students from around the school that he had recognized. Both the head girl and boy were here, Victor Nott, along with a handful of students from each house. They stopped by the buffet table that was filled with small ourderves and the like.

"So where's Slughorn?" Evan asked.

"He went out to go greet the guest for the evening, he usually tries to make it someone really well known for the first meeting." Lily explained.

"Yeah, tries to hypnotize everyone in becoming his followers right from the start. You have to come or else you may miss out on who may be guest appearing." Snape said, voice dripping with sarcasm and false excitement.

Lily smacked Snape on his arm, but the power behind it was lacking, especially since she was smiling in amusement. "Be nice."

"I, my dear Lily, am always polite." Snape said closing his eyes, while he puffed out his chest and gestured to himself.

Nott saw them and walked over. "Surprised you actually came Severus. Any idea who the guest is tonight?" he asked as he picked up a small piece of fruit and munched on it.

"None." Snape replied.

Before there could be any more chatter, Slughorn entered the room with a familiar looking tall, extremely muscular blond hair blue-eyed man, the two were speaking as if they were age-old friends. Excited chattering broke out as the two entered the room.

Slughorn gave a chortle. "I take it from the noise level that you have all recognized our guest for the evening, the newest member of the Wimbourne Wasps, Mr. Ludo Bagman!"

The commotion grew louder as the suspicion of the guest was confirmed. Evan looked over at Lily and Severus and noticed that the two were both bursting with interest at the guest as well. Nott gave a roll of his eyes, as if completely un-impressed and went to the other side of the buffet table.

"Aren't you glad you came, now Sev!' Lily whispered as she nudged him. Severus nodded back at her.

"Do you guys follow quidditch?" Evan inquired.

"Yes, and the Wimbourne Wasps have improved vastly since they signed on Bagman!" Severus informed Evan, his eyes not leaving Slughorn and Bagman who were making introductions around the room.

"Do you play quidditch?" Evan asked Snape with confusion. He hadn't remembered adult Snape to be an avid quidditch fan, then again he had never known the man.

"Nah, I am not a very skilful flier. I mean, I can play for fun, but I am not good enough for competitive play." Snape informed him off handedly.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Ignore him, he is way too enraptured with hot-shot over there," Lily said gesturing to Bagman. "He'll be more cynical again in a minute." As if Snape directly answering his questions, was out of character and a bad thing.

"Do you play quidditch, Evan?" Lily asked.

"Er.." Well the plan was for him not to play quidditch, but he did so want to fly his broom around while he still could before the weather started to get too awful. "I can play, but I get horrible performance anxiety, in front of large groups of people. You?"

Lily seemed to accept Evan's answer "I like it and everything, but I think I still prefer football. Much easier to follow."

Evan was saved from having to pretend that he didn't know what football was by Slughorn and Bagman approaching them. Up close, Bagman certainly resembled the man in Dumbeldore's memory, much more so than the tubby real life version he had met at the quidditch world cup.

"You will want to look out for these three in the future, Ludo." Slughorn said with one of his smiles as he gestured to the three students. "Lily Evans, an excellent potions student- but we both know charms is where you excel eh, Miss. Evans?"

Lily blushed a bit but nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Severus Snape, one of the most precise potions students I've had in a long while, and excellent at spell theory. He will provide the magical world with some new theories, very soon I believe!"

Snape merely inclined his head a bit at the compliments. Slughorn gave a chortle.

"This is Michael Evans, he too has excellent potion skills. He just transferred in though, so I am sure we have yet to see every skill he has!"

Bagman gave him a once over. "Anyone ever tell you that you have a build for a seeker, Evans?"

Before Evan could answer Slughorn gave a laugh. "Ludo, I told you no shopping for your coach this evening! Besides these three are in their fifth year, they have O.W.L.'s to study for! Come, come I will introduce you to one of our current quidditch captains!"

Slughorn and Bagman made their departure to a beefy looking red-head.

"Bit of a one-track mind on that one." Evan asked after the two were out of hearing range. He really did not want start talk of house quidditch teams.

"Unfortunately, an affliction in most who have a tendency to over-indulge in their line of work." Snape said with a mild sneer.

"Pot calling the cauldron black, much?" Lily pointed out as she reached for a pumpkin pastie.

Evan stifled a small laugh as Snape glared at Lily.

* * *

"For Thursday, I would like ten inches on the differences between a succubus and a vampire. We will work on our practical skills-"

The bell releasing the students sounded and the fifth year Slytherins began to pack their bags.

"- as well on Thursday, so make sure to study those spells!" Professor Tarrka, the defense against the dark arts teacher this year, called over the scraping of chairs and rustling of parchment. Evan made a reminder of the assignment on his notes and packed up his belongings. It was a week after the Slug Club party and Evan's small confession in the classroom, while Snape hadn't become all giggles and sunshine, he had certainly warmed up a bit.

"Hey, are we meeting up with Lily after dinner in the library to go over the Arithmancy assignment?" Evan asked Snape as they walked toward the front of the class.

Before Snape could answer, Professor Tarrka's voice called on him. "Michaels, could I see you in my office for a moment?"

Evan nodded and let Snape, who had a look of what looked to be sympathy on his face, know to go on without him. Evan had a feeling he knew what his was about.

Evan followed Tarrka into his office, and sat in the chair opposite of the desk intended for students. Tarrka followed suit and eyed Evan critically, before sighing.

"Michaels, you aren't in trouble or anything. I am just worried about your performance in this class."

"Sir, all of my papers have received fine marks." Which was true, he had near perfects on all of his homework.

"It's not about your homework Mr. Michaels, I am worried about your ability to perform the magic." Tarrka stated in a sad voice.

Evan gave a mental sigh. This is what he had been worried about. He wasn't supposed to perform his magic to the best of his ability, it would have been too suspicious, he was too powerful. It was mostly done not to raise any attention from the teachers, but also in case Voldemort had spies somewhere. Which Evan doubted, but you couldn't be too careful.

Not to mention that holding his true power back, which was hidden by his shields was not only tiring in its own right, but to act like he couldn't perform spells that he could do now do wandlessly was incredibly frustrating.

"Sir, I am trying my hardest in the practical portions…"

"I think that may be a part of the problem actually, Mr. Michales. You seem too focused on trying to complete the spell, your face has nearly turned red in concentration on several occasions."

Damn. Evan didn't know he had seemed that obvious.

"I was going to talk to your head of house about the possibility of appointing you a tutor. There is also a group that meets on Wednesdays that I supervise , that divulges into extra study and theory that may help. You seem to not be able to perform in class. Perhaps there is too much pressure in the classroom environment, I know you were home-schooled before. Maybe if you were with a tutor you might be in a more relaxed environment that would enable you to accurately perform the spells." Tarkka said in what Evan assumed was supposed to be a helpful soothing voice. To him it just seemed mocking.

Now Evan was not one to boast but, honestly! He was holding up three different glamour spells at the moment! Not to mention he had faced, yes with massive amounts of help, one of the darkest wizards of this part of the century on numerous occasions! He was ranting and raving about the injustice of it on the inside but on the outside he appeared to be a calm, yet slightly worried student.

"I really don't think that is necessary, sir."

"Mr. Michaels, I think you would benefit greatly-"

"I thank you for your wish to help, but I will handle it. May I be excused?" With that Evan got up and left the office, not really leaving time for his professor to argue with him.

Evan stormed out of the office and was surprised to see Snape leaning against a wall, reading his Shakespeare book again. Snape's head popped up from the book and he looked at Evan confusion and shock crossing into his features.

"What did he want?"

Evan took in a deep breath and tucked his annoyance behind his shield, to let it out later. Perhaps during his morning run tomorrow, he had found that using that time of physical activity to also be a good release of his negative emotions.

"Nothing really, just thinks I need a practical tutor, barmy right?" Evan said heading down the hallway with Snape. Snape looked slightly uncomfortable and opened his mouth to say something, but Evan beat him to it. "You didn't have to wait for me you know."

Snape shrugged and looked as if he was slightly annoyed. Maybe Evan had let more bite into the comment than he had intended.

"It was nice though, thanks." Snape seemed mildly cheered, but still uncomfortable about something by the comment as the two walked toward the great hall.

"In answer to your question earlier, yes we are meeting with Lily after dinner tonight."

"Brilliant, are we editing again?" The three had come to some sort of arrangement where they would edit and look over each other's work a couple of days before it was due. Not copying, like he would have done with Ron and Hermione, but just having someone else look over the paper to make sure everything made sense. Evan believed that this was part of the reason behind his small increase in his grades.

As the two turned the corner into the entrance hall, Evan felt a tripping jinx heading towards them. With some quick thinking and wandless magic, Evan managed to disarm the spell mid-air before it reached its intended target. Looking in front of them, Evan followed the dissipating magic to the source. His eyes found the caster in the form of a very confused looking Sirius Black who stood at the entrance to the great hall, with a James Potter trying to feign a casual demeanor at his side.

"I believe so." Snape replied to Evan's earlier question, completely oblivious to the incident that had almost happened. "I think she-"

Snape was cut off by a loud voice. "Oy Sinvellus, be careful they're serving chips for lunch today. You may not want to eat any, you're face is already greasy enough," Sirius Black said loudly as they grew closer to the doors of the great hall.

Snape's face tinged pink with embarrassment as he looked down, avoiding eye contact with Sirius. His face wasn't really all that greasy, if Evan was being honest, he looked even greasier in the future. Evan rolled his eyes at the comment, they weren't very original with their taunting. Having been on the receiving end of bullying many times Evan felt he should say something to lighten the mood, yet not jump in front of Snape and tell Sirius to leave him alone.

"Severus, we better not eat the chips." Snape looked at him in surprise with the beginnings of a hurt look creeping into his features. "It appears that they make you a complete idiot, who shouts out all sorts of bollocks." Evan finished.

Snape gave him a half smile, half smirk. "No, Black is always a complete idiot."

"Oh my mistake." Evan replied as they walked into the great hall past a confused looking Sirius.

Halfway to the Slytherin table Snape said something so low, that Evan could barely make out what he was saying. "It was not needed for you to add anything to that altercation," there was a pause as they sat at their places. "But, thanks, for that back there." Snape said not looking at him as he filled his plate with food.

"Don't mention it."

Snape looked at him for a moment, and then gave him a small affirming smile. The topic was quickly changed to talking about what they were going to go over with Lily that evening for their study session; and while Snape seemed like he wasn't too upset by what Sirius had said, Evan noticed that the black haired boy did not put any chips on his plate for the first time since school had started.

Evan didn't know why, but this made him feel a wave of unpleasant bitter emotions.

"So that's the number four?" Evan asked Snape, pointing to the sequence in question.

"Yes, and the following numbers in the sequence are multiples of four, not two. I think that's why your chart did not come out correctly, try it again with the new numbers." Snape went back to his own chart. "Lily did you get to the third part of the- " Snape looked over to Lily whose head was currently hidden behind her divination book "Lily!" Snape said a bit louder.

"Huh?" The red-head appeared from behind her book.

"We're working on arithmancy right now, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. But this is due tomorrow and I haven't interpreted my prophecies yet. " Lily whined.

"Do not whine, Lily. It is most unbecoming." Snape said in a haughty voice, earning a glare from Lily. "Not to mention that our charts are also due tomorrow as well."

"Yes, but artihmancy is straight forward. You just need to find the right formula and you're set. Prophecy interpretation is hard, a single prophecy could hold several different meanings. Did you know that more often than not, people do not know the true meaning behind a prophecy until after the prophecy has occurred."

"No, I did not pick up on that delightful piece of information the first hundred times you said it." Lily did not seem to appreciate Snape's sarcasm this time.

"How many do you have to interpret?" Evan asked looking up from his chart.

"We only have to interpret three this time." Lily replied. "But they're so cryptic!"

"Really? Let's see." With that statement, Snape stole the book from the hands of a now exacerbated Lily.

"Right Evan, let us see if we can help Lily with her ever so difficult homework assignment, that is essentially just bull-shitting answers." Snape said as he looked down to the first prophecy, ignoring Lily's rude hand gesture.

"Prophecy one- In the lower western end of a large nation, where magic is created through the means of light, sound and the movement of objects and peoples. There will be a battle between good and evil, where it will be stated by the followers, that the evil side has enticed people in to joining them through the idea of providing baked goods.

Well, Lily it seems incredibly apparent to me what this prophecy means. That baked goods will lead you down the path of evil." Severus said dead-panned.

Lily made a face. "That one is the oddest sounding of the three."

"Prophecy two- When the cub follows the butterfly down the hole made by the creatures who have ingested the earth, the cub shall become part of a pack that it is not used too, but will grow to care and protect more than it had with its last. When the cub has grown into its adult skin, it will have no need for playful distractions and it will be as if the butterfly had never flapped its wings."

"I am not sure what kind of animal the cub could be or if it means some kind of different magical creature."

"Lily, you need to read more. It's basically something like _A Christmas Carol_. Childish people go after monetary gain, but when they realize that flashy things money can buy do not equal happiness, they mature and become new people who are not obsessed with the idea that money is the key to happiness."

"What about that bit with the creatures of the earth?" Lily asked making notes on her parchment.

"Probably about exploiting plebeians. Right, prophecy three- The snake shall hide a piece of himself in seven different places, including his foe that he shall name as the lion." Evan paused in his writing and began listening intently to the words falling from Snape's mouth. "When the lion is victorious, it is the snake who will think he has won. But in his blindness the snake will remove his essence from the lion, thus cementing the lion's ultimate victory of the war. It is only after this that the lion will be able to properly embrace his own traits that are comparable to the snake."

Evan nearly dropped his quill. He was slow, but he wasn't that slow.

"That one I think is the most cryptic! It makes zero sense, all I've got so far is that someone will have to battle a part of themselves in order to accept that they have certain qualities in them that they thought weren't theirs to begin with. But the who, the when and how, are completely unable to deduce."

There was a small silence as if everyone was in thought.

"A Gryffiindor and a Slytherin." Evan was surprised to find that the words came from his mouth.

Lily looked over at him. "Genius! It is so plainly obvious, but so easy to decipher, I told you Sev, they are complete nonsense until you know exactly what they mean!" Lily cried out triumphantly, swishing her quill in the air as she spoke. She went back to writing her divination homework with renewed purpose. Snape rolled his eyes and went back to his chart.

All Evan could think, was how completely correct Lily was. While she and Snape had no idea what truth the prophecy held, Evan did. He knew, after all, he was the one who it was about. Him and Voldermort, again. He wondered if everyone had this many prophecies about their life or if he was just special.

* * *

_TBC…_

Sorry also about the shortness of this chapter ! This was a crazy week!

Next time- Flying and frustrations.

So, uhh that review button is looking mighty fine….right?

-Bongo Monkeys


	8. Chapter 8

A thousand apologies to those who are still willing to read my story, despite the lateness of the chapter! I shall give reasons as to why, but if you don't care about me blithering on about my life, I suggest you scroll down. I had make-up trade shows to go to, my cousin got married and work is scheduling me nearly 40 hours a week, when I thought I would be receiving 20-30 at most this summer O_o. Also, I am planning a bridal shower and bachelorette party. That's thrown a lot of my plans threw a loop!

I am so glad that the prophecies seem to have gone over well, even if not many people for the first one ;). Anywho, I hopes that the fact that this is the longest chapter yet will make up for it a smidgen.

As always I thank the loverly people who reviewed; Azrael Jinsei \Ming Xiong (BLESS YOU! You are the only one who got my Awesome reference! It made me happy.), KneazleGriff**( loved your comments! A lot of those themes are showing up in this chapter as well ^^!),** Fire-Metal-Horse17, dogsby, TearfullPixie, Cazzylove, ckirkes2427**(I try to write long chapters, but I failsss!),** Deby Magid **(Maybe, ;) I really don't want to give out too much of an answer to your question, but I do know the answer- does that make sense?)** A.E. Reed, GoddessonmyKnees.

I cannot say thanks enough to Ginji, who is amazing and deals with all my questions and sends me the most amusing feedback.

Enough of these author notes! If you want a disclaimer, see the first chapter. If you would like to review it would thrill me to pieces! Enjoy!

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter 8**

If Evan thought he had hated Voldemort and that stupid slithering companion of his before, Evan didn't know what words would accurately describe his feelings towards the two now.

When he had decided he would try to save Snape's life in the future, he thought that the first reasonable step would be to find out what kind of snake Nagini was. Once he found out what kind of snake Nagini was, he could figure out what her venom did to a victim, so he could research and prepare the proper anti-venom.

Yes, he had twenty years to prepare for it and everything, but Evan had this strange sort of nagging feeling about the subject that this was something he did not want to put off. Not to mention that some of his reading on poisons and antidotes during the summer, had found that some antidotes had to be introduced in to the system in small doses so that the body could adjust to the unknown parasite. Often times it was just a small amount of the poison that was directly introduced into the body, according to Michael this was how some muggle vaccinations worked.

So, on a lovely Saturday afternoon Evan was sitting in the library staring at the book the Fates had given him on species of snakes. None of which sounded like Nagini at all! She sort of looked like the Death Adder, but that was found in Australia and New Guinea, not to mention Nagini had a different kind of pattern on her back.

He had read this book from cover to cover now and still had no idea of what kind of snake Nagini was. It wasn't as if he could write any of the information down either. Why would the Fates have given him a book on snakes that was only frustrating and not helping him?

Evan let out a small sigh of frustration; he had never been quite that good at research, that had always been Hermione's forte. He snuck a quick look about the library and saw that no one else was in his area at the moment. He reached into his book bag and pulled out the small bag that the Fates had given him. Reaching inside quickly, he felt for that small photograph that had been the closest thing to support that he had at the moment. He pulled out the photograph and looked at the three teenagers that were smiling wearily at him. He put the bag from the Fates back into his book bag and smoothed out the photograph and placed it on top of the book about snakes. As if Hermione could magically pop out of it and tell him how to create proper study schedules for everything he was doing. Evan let out a weary sigh as he rubbed his eyes with his right hand, his left hand still on the photo of the three friends. Adventures were much more difficult and straining without friends who seamlessly fit together; unconsciously knowing and giving the kind of support to the others in the group whenever it was needed. Adventures are hard when you're on your own.

"What are you doing?" a soft familiar voice asked from behind Evan, causing him to jump in his seat, while covering the photograph and book he was reading with his arms. He looked to where the voice came from and watched as Snape took a seat in the chair two away from him.

"Reading," Evan said in a voice that he hoped came off as casual. After all he wasn't sure if Snape should know exactly what he was reading about. Then again, it was highly unlikely for the future potions master to know the significance of the book about Snakes.

"About snakes?" Snape said as he indicated with his head to a part of the book where a picture of the Philippine cobra was half showing from underneath his arm.

"Yeah, you know. About what makes them… different from each other."

"Are you thinking about purchasing one as a pet?" Snape asked with a crinkle in his nose that Evan assumed meant that the other teenager was not very fond of their house animal.

"Not entirely sure, really."

"Is that what the spare bit of parchment is for?"

"Huh?"

Snape rolled his eyes. "Sorry, I assumed you were doing productive research." When Evan didn't reply Snape continued. "You are aware that is what we do, in potions. Make lists to compare the ingredients…" Snape continued slowly as he looked at Evan as if he were stupid.

Evan looked down at the picture of his other life. "Oh!"

Inspiration struck, he gave Snape a smile of victory. This is how he could write down the information about Nagini! He could study what kind of spell work his Uncle had placed on the photograph to make it invisible to everyone but himself, use the spell on a sheet of parchment so no one else could read it! He would of course use the bag from the Fates to keep the written information down in, just for extra precaution.

"That's exactly what it is for." Evan tucked the photo in the book about Snakes, bookmarking his place for the time being. He placed the book and the photo into the bag from the Fates, which was still hidden from view inside his book bag.

"How have you been spending your Saturday?" Evan asked of the other boy who had interrupted his study time.

Snape gave a shrug and began picking at something on the table. "I was enjoying myself in a good book, but some of our lovely dorm mates were making far too much noise. So I came down here to see if you were doing anything moderately interesting."

"Consensus?"

"I'm not sure if the perilous journey was worth it. For I am now feeling bored again." Snape said with a melodramatic sigh.

Evan gave a small laugh. Now that he had been hanging around Snape for almost two months he was starting to understand his sense of humor.

"However shall we set about curing your boredom?" Evan asked standing up and pushing his chair in. He figured anything that would be remotely fun to do would not take place in the library. Snape followed suit.

"Dunno. It's a nice day out, not too breezy, so it isn't super chilly for October." Snape said with a shrug as they left the drafty library.

"Oh, I know what we should do!" Evan decreed loudly.

Snape gave him an odd look at the odd loud burst.

"We should go flying!" Evan continued with sincere enthusiasm. He had not yet gotten a chance to go flying since school began and he was beginning to miss not only flying on his broom, but also the act of flying as sport for quidditch. Evan had not realized how much he enjoyed having a set time to go out and play quidditch two to three times a week, working with a team towards a combined goal, exercising and joking about with his teammates. While he had continued the morning exercises outlined by his Uncle, it was not the same, his work now was solitary.

"Flying?" Snape questioned with a sort of dead-panned look on his face.

"Yeah, you know just for fun!" Evan turned to face his friend so he was now walking backwards down the hallway.

"You do realize that, there will more than likely be a lot of people out near the quidditch pitch on a nice Saturday afternoon?" Snape asked with a sort of cautious expression.

Evan was about to snort and ask who cared about flying in front of crowds. _Oh._ He, as Evan did. Evan stopped walking in front of Snape, so as to wait for the other boy to catch up with him.

"I forgot about that." Evan stated his shoulders slumping. He couldn't help the small act of petulant behavior. He really had missed flying, and the idea of going on a broom again, feeling the wind in his hair had sounded extremely appetizing at that moment.

The two continued down the hallway towards the dungeons.

"You know..." Snape started slowly as if he was debating with himself, "There is a place we could go…"

Evan felt himself perk up, before he could think about how much he should be controlling his emotions. "Where?"

Snape looked startled by something on his face. "It's on the other side of the castle, sort of in between the forest and the grounds." Evan must have had a confused expression on his face, he really hadn't heard of any clearings like that before, Snape continued, "Lily and I sometimes go over there when the weathers nice. We'd have to climb over some rocks, but if we have brooms I think it should be ok."

"Brilliant!" Evan didn't even bother to try and hide the smile that broke out on to his face.

The two made their way to the dorms at a faster pace than the one they had been using when leaving the library.

"So, I just need to drop my stuff off in the room and grab my broom." Evan let Snape know as the two walked into the half-filled common room.

"Your broom is in your trunk?" Snape asked with a perplexed expression.

"Err. Remember when I said my Uncle…" Evan started to ask as they entered the room.

The room was empty except for Nott, who was writing something that Evan assumed to be a paper at his desk. Not wanting to disturb their dorm mate, who could be rather unpleasant when disturbed from his work, the two set down their belongings quickly and Evan grabbed the _Nimbus 1700_ from its separate compartment in his trunk, making sure that the brown paper covering it was still hiding the identity of the broom. He had had a top-of-the-line broom at Hogwarts enough times to know how kids his age and younger could act at the idea of a new broom. This though was enough incentive to keep the broom's make hidden from prying eyes.

The two made their way out of the fifth-year boy's rooms quickly and as they were descending down the stairs to the common room, Evan discreetly put a small 'notice-me-not' charm on the broom.

Once out in the hallway, the two resumed their conversation.

"Should we borrow a quaffle too?" Snape asked as the two made their way to exit the castle.

"Err, I might not be very good…" Evan really hadn't played as chaser too often.

Snape gave a shrug and kicked at something on the stone floor. "While I am no superb chaser either, I thought it-"

Evan could almost sense the other boy withdrawing. "No, sorry. I'm just… not used to playing with actual equipment." _Where the hell had that lie come from?_ Evan thought to himself as Snape looked back at him. "The area I'm from, not many of the families have a lot of money to spend on certified league equipment. We kind of just played with whatever we could find, or what someone could transfigure to resemble the right shape and size." Evan found that once the lie began, the rest of the words followed easily.

Snape seemed to accept this answer and the two began talking about what different potions they had played, with Evan heavily editing his share, until they reached the broom shed where Evan was surprised to see a 7th year Hufflepuff sitting outside.

Evan watched as Snape went up to the 7th year, they talked, Snape signed a piece of parchment and then the Hufflepuff went into the shed. Evan decided he would ask Snape about the interaction when he came back over, he hadn't seen anything like that when he had attended Hogwarts in the future.

Snape walked back over with a broom and a quaffle in hand, and gestured for Evan to walk with him in the opposite direction of the quidditch pitch.

"What was that about?" Evan asked.

"What was what about?"

"The whole paper… thing"

"You mean checking out equipment?" Snape asked as he gave Evan that look that made him feel less than average intelligence.

"Can't you just… check it out by yourself?"

Snape gave a snort. "Yes, Evan. The school entrusts a bunch of teenagers free reign of hundreds to thousands of galleons worth of equipment, whenever they want." At Evan's blush he continued. "If you store your broom in there, which you are supposed to do by the way, they go and retrieve it for you. The only exception is that the quidditch teams can go in and out whenever they want, but the rest of us have to check our equipment out and return it that same day."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Well, Evan had always been a part of a quidditch team.

"Oh you innocent home-schooled child, whatever shall I do with you?" Snape asked as he flung his free arm across Evan's shoulders.

"I'm really not all that innocent." Evan protested.

"Of course you aren't. Please tell me that they told you where babies come from, because if I have to have the owls and the kneazles conversation with you…"

"Huh?" Evan asked generally confused. Owls and kneazles… that sounded familiar…

"Haha very funny." Snape said but at Evan's confused expression he stopped walking, breaking their contact. "Wait, seriously- you don't know what I'm talking about…"

Oh. Evan remembered that conversation- once with Sirius, which had been rather crude, and once with his uncle who looked rather disgusted half of the time. Deciding that it might be fun to mess with Snape…

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He tried to get out in an innocent tone.

"No one has had 'the talk' with you? You're 15 for Merlin's sake!"

"What talk?"

"You know about what two people do when they are alone and –" Snape looked slightly flustered and was using the quaffle and his broom as objects. What they were supposed to represent was anyone's guess, what with the way Snape was moving them about.

Evan couldn't help the beginnings of a smile start to escape. Snape looked over at him at that moment and his face went pink from being flustered, to a more red color of embarrassment.

"You prat!" Snape cried out and glared at Evan.

Evan couldn't help the warm erupting laughter that escaped from him. "You should have seen your face!" He managed to say in –between breaths.

Snape ignored him and started walking toward the destination again.

"Aww, Severusss don't be mad!" Evan called as he lightly jogged to catch up with the annoyed teenager.

Snape ignored him and looked straight forward to the pile of rocks that they were about to head over.

"Or are you just sad that I'm not as innocent as you thought I was?" Evan asked with a smirk.

For some reason this caused Snape's face to flush more, Evan figured it was because Snape thought he was being made a fool of.

"Or is it because you were not the one to enlighten my young adolescent mind?" Evan teased "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you, I'm sure I'll still need you to explain a great many things to me in the future."

Snape seemed to either turn a bit redder at this or was satisfied with the answer, which it was Evan couldn't tell

"I suppose you would be lost without me next weekend at Hogsmeade." Snape sniffed with importance.

"Where would I be than- I would wander aimlessly throughout the village and never find- that sweet store you spoke of."

"Honeydukes, Evan." Snape said with an eye-roll.

The two reached the bottom of the small rock hill.

"I assume this is when we begin to use our brooms?" Evan asked, laying his broom on the ground.

"Well, technically we could have used them the whole way, but I figured you wouldn't have wanted to."

"Oh, thanks." Evan said as he unwrapped the broom from its paper.

"If I had known you were going to be such a prat, I would have insisted on flying." Snape said in a teasing tone as he mounted his rented broom.

Evan stuck out his tongue and folded the brown wrappings. He stood, calling his broom to him and mounting it in one motion.

Severus gave him an odd look.

"What?"

"Nothing. That was just… fluid."

"I have flown before Severus," Evan complained with an eye-roll as he silently berated himself for not being more careful. Flying was something that had come the most naturally to him in the wizarding world, it seemed fitting that it would be the hardest thing to hide. "Not having the right equipment didn't stop us from playing."

Snape gave one of those shrugs, as he headed into the air. Evan followed suit and the two boys began flying at a leisurely pace that left Evan begging to go faster, but he knew that going fast right now was probably not the best idea, especially since he didn't know where they were going, and followed Snape's lead.

The two flew for a good minute over the rocks and another couple of minutes of flying over a couple of trees before Snape gave the motion to fly down. When Evan landed, he found himself in a small clearing that was probably half the size of the quidditch pitch. The clearing itself was had an odd oval shape created by trees on one side and a small creek on the other.

"Where is this?"

"It's right outside of the forbidden forest and the only way to get here, is either from going over the rocks or through the forest. It's why most students don't know about it."

"Makes sense."

"So, what kind of broom do you have that you felt so compelled to keep in your room?" Snape asked nearly bursting with curiosity, as if he had been waiting ages to ask Evan.

"Oh," Evan swung his leg off of his broom and walked over to Snape. When he got over there he tilted the broom in such a way that the polished name of the broom glinted in the sunlight.

Snape's jaw dropped as he looked at the broom in Evan's hands.

"Like I said my Uncle has money…"

"You weren't joking! Do you have any idea how-" Snape stopped asking the question and blushed as if he was about to get reprimanded for asking such a question.

"No, I really don't have any idea." There was a small pause. "Do you want a go?" The question left his mouth before he had a chance to think of the possible outcomes that could happen from asking Snape something of that nature.

"Wha?" Snape asked in surprise. "Evan... I couldn't- what if I break it or something?" He asked taking a small shift backwards, as if the broom would be poisoned by his presence.

"Nonsense, come on. I mean I was a being a prat earlier." Evan said in what he hoped was a convincing smile. "I don't deserve to have such a sweet ride."

"Sweet ride?" Snape looked at Evan as if he had grown an extra head, the broom forgotten momentarily.

"Oh, just some slang we had back home..." _In the 1990's! _Evan thought as he silently chastised himself. Why was it that Snape made it so much harder for him to keep up the pureblood façade?

"Go ahead, Sev." Evan said moving the broom closer to the other boy.

Snape looked slightly startled. "Just a couple of laps though." He said tentatively reaching out for the broom.

"Okay," Evan said with a small laugh.

Snape handed Evan him the rental broom from the school, and Evan could almost feel how old the magic was in that broom compared to that of his Nimbus.

Snape took the broom in his hands as if it was made out of china. He looked up to Evan again and opened his mouth to say something, but Evan beat him to it.

"If you ask me if it is ok one more time, I will take the broom and throw it in the creek." Evan said as he mounted the school broom, ignoring Snape's horrified expression.

_Damn, this thing needs a lot of power to move!_ Evan thought as he tried a lap around the clearing. While it wasn't necessarily hard for him to menoveur, due to the muscles he had from running and meditating, Evan could tell this broom needed a bit more strength to move it in the correct manner. He was glad he hadn't gone from something like this to a Firebolt, he probably would have crashed into a post straight away.

"Come on Severus!" Evan called down to the boy who was just barely hovering above the ground.

Snape gave Evan a sneer before he started out on a lap around the clearing. It took a good three laps for Snape to feel comfortable riding the _Nimbus 1700_. Around the sixth lap, Evan noticed that he had finally calmed down enough and soon the two were simply flying around enjoying the wind and their brooms.

After a good ten minutes of flying, Snape suggested they start throwing the quaffle around and demanded that they switch brooms. Deciding not to push the other boy too far, Evan complied and the two got on their original brooms.

They started lazily throwing the quaffle at small distances talking about inane things. While Snape was not the worst chaser he had ever worked with, he certainly wasn't as agile or quick as Katie or Ginny would be, he was nowhere near as bad as some of the try outs Evan had received in his sixth year.

"You know, you really are not that bad at this." Snape said pointedly as he tossed the quaffle to Evan

"I was just thinking the same thing." Evan called back, throwing the quaffle over.

Snape replied with an eye roll. "Well we are not really trying anything tricky are we?" He threw the quaffle into the air above him and caught it.

"Is that a challenge, Mister Snape!"

Snape smirked back at him and threw the quaffle over to him with a bit of a spin on it.

Evan caught it easily and threw it back over in a similar style.

The lazy movement that the two had been utilizing was soon replaced by some kind of strange contest of who could pull off the best kind of passes. Whether they were: one- handed, made with two hands nudged with a foot, thrown backwards, made from a stopped position or thrown while in mid-flight.

Okay, Snape would actually make a fairly decent chaser. Ginny and the other Gryffindors Evan had had on his team, were probably better. Though Evan had to wonder if that had to deal with how much they practiced.

Evan stopped his musings as the quaffle raced back towards him, he put his thoughts away and began to lose himself in the game.

Evan wasn't sure how much longer they had been playing for after that moment, whether it was the next pass or twenty minutes later he didn't know, but Snape threw the quaffle over to him and it fell a good five feet short in front of Evan who was had lost himself in the game by this point, that he did something when reflected on later he knew was incredibly stupid. He went after the ball.

The quaffle was denser than the snitch and seemed to be falling faster than the rememberall had, but Evan knew he could catch it. He heard Snape yelling something vaguely in the background, but the sound of the wind whistling in his ears was such a welcome feeling, that Snape's voice seemed to just become a part of the wind in his ears. Evan reached out for the quaffle with one hand and caught it a good five feet away from the ground.

Evan straightened out his broom and tossed the quaffle lightly in the air, smirking in victory, he looked over to Snape and didn't see the other boy.

_Uh oh. _How high had they been in the air?

Swallowing nervously, Evan slowly looked into the air and saw a small speck growing larger as it came down towards him.

As Snape grew closer, Evan could start to make out the steady stream of expletives leaving the future Professor's mouth. He figured this would be a good time to dismount and did so.

Snape arrived on the ground and threw the rental somewhere off to the side.

"What the fuck was that?" Snape yelled.

"I err, was catching the ball?"

As Snape stalked over, he sent over a stinging hex that thankfully missed.

"Hey!" Evan cried out in defense. "Not cool!"

"Not, cool! You know what's not cool!" The other boy said getting closer.

"Uh-"

"Me sitting on my broom- imagining your death in hundreds of different ways!" Snape arrived and was very close to his face pointing to the direction from which he came.

"I said I had played a bit of everything on the –"

"No! A proper warning would have been 'Hey Severus, guess what, I may hate flying in front of people, but its only because I make them go insane with worry, because I do the stupidest fucking stunts on my broom'!" Snape then made a very aggravated noise while kicking at something, before stalking back to where he had thrown his broom. Where he promptly sat on tree trunk facing the opposite direction in a huff.

Evan sighed. This was probably one of the reasons his uncle had stressed thinking before acting. He picked up his broom and slung it over his shoulder and made his way over to Snape. Honestly, the other boy was probably over-reacting, they hadn't been that high in the air… had they?

No one had freaked out that much when he had caught Neville's rememberall in first year...then again he had a different name and a different past.

Evan took a seat next to Snape on the stump, who hastily turned away.

"Look, Severus-" Evan began in some annoyance, but cut himself off as he watched Snape bring his sleeve up to his face- near his eye.

"Severus…" Evan touched the other boy's shoulder, causing him to flinch, but Severus let himself be faced toward Evan.

Evan tried not to stare or let his mouth drop open. Snape's eyes were starting to show traces of red, letting some dark blue show in his dark eyes, and there were tear tracks on his face. The glare on his face was almost challenging Evan to say something.

Severus Snape had been crying.

"Severus," Evan tried to begin.

"What?" Snape snapped back.

Evan took in a breath. "Were we really that high up?"

"We were probably as high as the towers."

"Oh… At home, we didn't really have anything to judge the height by…" Evan did have to admit that while he had been higher than that on a broom, and a dragon, he hadn't done a dive like that in awhile.

It was quiet for a minute.

"It was like I was frozen to the spot, I kept thinking there was no way in hell you could make it. Evan, there are professional seekers out there who probably could not even have made that dive. I just kept seeing your body hit the ground- and there was nothing I would have been able to-"

Evan was surprised to see that Snape's eyes were beginning to water. Had he already begun to mean that much to the other teenager? Or was Evan just jaded from all that he had already seen in his life.

"I'm sorry I scared you." Snape looked slightly shocked by the apology. "I sometimes lose my head in the game and don't really think about the consequences." Evan said as he stroked Snape's back in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

Evan didn't really know what to say or do here, he figured waiting for Snape to compose himself was probably the best course of actions.

"It really is a shame you don't like playing in front of large groups of people." Snape mused after awhile.

"Huh?"

"Well with you on the Slytherin quidditch team, they would probably win every game."

"I'm not that good." Evan said with a small laugh.

Snape looked at him like he was a crazy person.

"Even if I was good enough to get on a team," Evan said with a shake of his head "I really can't afford the distraction right now."

Snape looked at him with a small amount of confusion on his face. "What do you mean?"

"I really was never a good student before, I sort of paid a bit of attention and my friend and I sort of slacked on our homework a lot," Evan smiled fondly as he thought of him and Ron making up their divination assignments. "And while my Uncle may not be the most nurturing person, he did take me in and is paying for my education. Which I'm sure is costing him a pile of gold he hadn't been expecting to spend, whether he had it saved for something else or not, I'm sure Hogwarts costs a fair amount. Studying and doing well in classes is the most I can do to show him how much I appreciate it. So it is a studious life for me." Evan said with a sigh. "You and Lily help a lot, by the way, with making sure I keep up on assignments." Evan finished with a small nudge to Snape's shoulders.

"I get that, I mean." Snape stopped as if debating whether or not he should share more. "My mum seems to be generally happy when I get good marks, I like that I can bring some of that to her life." Snape said quietly, his eyes looking forward. Evan had a feeling he really wasn't taking in the image of the scenery in front of them.

It was quiet for a moment, while Evan let Snape collect his thoughts. While Evan was curious to know a bit more about the destructive home life he had seen in his companion's older counterparts memories, he figured now was not the time to ask.

"We should probably start heading back." Snape said as he stood up from the trunk and went over to the broom he had discarded earlier.

Evan looked up and saw that the beginnings of orange hues tinting the sky. Following Snape's example he went over to his broom and mounted it. Snape flew over a moment later and the two set off from the small meadow to return the quidditch equipment.

They flew a bit closer to the pitch area this time, seeing as how most of the students that had been milling about earlier had gone inside. When they were close enough, the two got off their brooms, Severus flinging the borrowed one over his shoulder while Evan made sure to wrap his in its brown wrappings as he enforced the notice-me-not spell.

Later that night in bed, with the curtains drawn, Evan reflected on the strangeness of the day.

He had gone flying with Severus Snape, which turned out to be a more fun than he had imagined it would be. Sure he missed quidditch as a sport, but it had been… nice to just relax with someone else and just toss the quaffle around, until he had gone for that crazy dive. Before that though, when they had been just flying and throwing the quaffle back and forth lazily, it sort of reminded Evan of the boys he would see in the park that would just be hanging out and kicking a football back and forth. He never really had understood why they had gone to the park day after day, when it seemed they had been just messing around really. Well then again, it had been a long time since he had been able to just relax and play quidditch just for the fun of it. It was ages ago, in a time that had yet to happen.

Something that had not escaped Evan's notice was that Snape wasn't very good at hiding his emotions when he was worried or scared. Evan was left to wonder, when and how that changed. The Snape he knew in the future, seemed to have a limited emotion range that showed pissed off to exasperated. It was nothing like the Snape he saw today; the one who had freaked on the spot when he thought Evan was going to crash. Adult Snape would have sailed down and insulted Evans very being for trying something so foolish. Was it age that had calmed the man down, or was it something else entirely? Well, he had never known the man, perhaps over time he would learn how Snape became so hardened.

One thing that was getting easier was covering up his past life. Evan had somehow managed to not mess up the background he and his Uncle had framed for himself, and it was becoming easier to fabricate the fake life he never had. While Evan was happy with the way he was able to convince Snape of his past life, it also scared him. This new ability to seamlessly lie; to create a false existence, and to be able to pull off those lies convincingly, was so far from himself he was nervous about the new ability. Would hiding who he really was beneath all the lies, be the thing that would save him, or would he lose himself to the falsehoods.

* * *

"Hey Evan, whatchya reading?"

Evan looked up to see that Lily had come on over to his table in the library and sat herself down across from him. It appeared people dropping in on him in the library was becoming a thing.

Evan picked up the book on concealing and disillusionment charms and showed it to her.

Lily's nose made a crinkle as a confused look feel upon her features. "Disillusionment charms? We aren't supposed to start covering those until next year."

"Yeah, but I was browsing and the title caught my eye." Evan said as he placed the book down on the table. It was half true, kind of. While he and his Uncle had briefly gone over the theory over the summer, they had not gone into practicing how to make one's self invisible. Evan could construct a darn good notice-me-not spell but, Evan figured that wouldn't work for what he was planning.

It was Wednesday, which was usually the day he had set aside for studying medicinal magic and snakes, but Evan wanted to create a chart to write down all the information on. The problem with that is he would need to figure out the charms his Uncle had placed on the photograph and there was nowhere in Hogwarts that he felt would be safe for analyzing that kind of magic over any time periods, save for the room of requirement.

The problem was that the room of requirement was on the opposite side of the castle from the Slytherins and while Evan had got on well enough with some of the Ravenclaws, he really had no business to be on that side of the castle, thus eliminating the idea he had gone over to the common room to meet up with a classmate. None of his classes were in that area either, so he couldn't just sneak there after one. Which left nighttime.

Going to the room at night would be the best idea, he could do a notice-me-not spell on himself as he left the common room, but while Evan was confident in his spell work, he knew that teachers were on the look-out for those types of spells when they were monitoring the corridors at night. It made Evan miss the cloak of invisibility and Marauders Map terribly, but it wasn't like he could go up to James Potter and say 'Hey, so I'm your son from the future and I'm up to something so I need your cloak.' Evan didn't think that the map was created until later in sixth year.

Evan gave a small mental snort at the idea. Picturing James' face during the interaction would be amusing. While his father, wasn't as much of a bully as he thought he was going to be, it could certainly be said that the teenager was cocky and slightly pompous, he seemed to be wary of Evan.

James and Sirius seemed to still taunt Snape every once in awhile, but usually it had been in an environment where there could be little option for retaliation, which Evan thought was for the best.

"…for?" Lily's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Huh, sorry I didn't hear that."

"I asked what you were looking the charms up for." Lily repeated with an amused smile.

"Oh, I thought it may be good to know how, just in case." Evan said hoping that Lily could find her own meaning in the cryptic answer.

Lily's face darkened a bit. "But... I mean you're a pureblood." She said quietly, even for library standards.

Evan saw where she drew her conclusions and decided to go with her assumptions. "Doesn't mean I don't want to not be able to disappear when I feel I am somewhere unsafe."

It was quiet for a moment.

"Can I study the charm with you?"

Evan looked up at her in surprise.

"Look," she continued "I'm not the best in charms, but I think that it might be a good thing to know."

"Lily what are you talking about? You're brilliant at charms!"

Lily gave a small embarrassed smile. "I may be good, but there is always someone better."

It made Evan think of the quote his Uncle had drilled into him, in hopes that he would never get too cocky- "Never think you are the smartest guy in the room."

While it may be a bad idea to have someone else know what he was working on, it would help to have another set of eyes to be there to confirm if he was performing the charm accurately.

"Sure, why not?" Evan said with a small smile.

Lily beamed at him. "I'll go see if there is another copy of the book." She looked at the title and author of the book Evan was reading before standing and pushing in her chair as she walked off to the charms section.

On a spare piece of parchment Evan began outlining what chapters he had read, and which he thought would still need to be read, before the practical work could begin. By the time he finished writing down the outline Lily had come back to the table, this time sitting down in the chair next to Evan.

Evan passed over the parchment. "I put the chapters I read here in this column, than out of those chapters I put the ones I think you need to read here." Evan pointed to a different list of chapters. "Than this last row is the ones I think will need to be read."

"Ugh, so much reading! I know it's important to know the theory and everything before practicing the spells, but I personally find it a lot easier to learn by actually trying to perform the spells"

"I actually learn like that too," Evan said trying to hide the small part of him that was thrilled to have something in common with the girl sitting beside him.

"What's with all the reading?"

"Well, I actually went into the practical part first and tried to cast the spell to see which parts of the theory I needed to understand more."

Lily looked slightly surprised by something. "All this reading though, it's more like Sev. Speaking of which, where is that git?" She asked in friendly banter and Evan got the feeling that the question had nothing to do with the surprise that was one her face moments ago.

"Dunno. I've been coming here every Wednesday since term began. I think he said something about meeting up with a club or something at one point." Evan shrugged and would have continued reading, had he not noticed the annoyed flare that crept into Lily's green eyes.

"Did he say which club?" Lily asked tersely.

"Not sure really, I think he said something about defense, or spell theory or something…"

"Why that little… is he just a masochist?"

"Wha..?" Evan was honestly confused at this point.

"Sorry," Lily said as she looked at Evan's confused expression. "It's just… I don't much like the way that group behaves, and some of the ways that they've treated Sev." She opened her mouth to say something else, but then closed it at the last moment and shook her head. "Right, so start with chapter four?" Lily asked with her book.

"Yeah."

The two didn't talk about much for the rest of the evening besides charms. When it had gotten closer to curfew, the two parted ways- Lily to go start some prefect duties and Evan to his common room.

By the time he got to the common room, he noticed that Snape wasn't back yet. He really didn't think much about the other boys' vacancy- he usually got back later than Evan did on Wednesdays- but Evan was a bit curious as to why Lily seemed so unsettled by the idea of Snape going to that club.

As he was climbing into bed for the evening, something Sirius had said once slipped into his brain '_Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in the seventh year and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters"_.

Was the group of kids he was with on Wednesdays, a future- death eater club or something?

Evan nearly sat up in bed. Something didn't fit. Snape seemed more like a loner in his year, maybe the older kids in Slytherin were the ones Sirius had been thinking of. Like Lucius Malfoy who had already graduated…

Then again, Sirius had tended to exaggerate things- there was no way a mere 11 year old could know more curses than the 7th years... was there? Something was not fitting into place here, and Evan would find out what it was.

* * *

The next morning as Evan went down to breakfast with Snape, he tried to talk a bit less and observe a bit more. Things were not as tense as Evan thought they would be after the awkward flying incident, it seemed that they were the opposite in fact, for some strange reason. As if the experience had made the friendship more relaxed, natural. Why, Evan had not a clue.

Snape didn't seem any different this morning. If anything he seemed calmer than he usually was. Or was he just projecting a calm manner?

As they were eating breakfast, the conversation was pretty normal too. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary- Evan wondered if he was trying to look for clues to strange behavior that didn't exist. He sighed and munched on his toast.

"Hey, what's got Lily's robe in a twist?" Snape asked grabbing Evan's attention.

Evan looked over to the red-headed girl who was currently sending Snape a glare. She must have realized that she had his attention, for she motioned with her hand to her eye, she then made a fist, pointed at Snape and made a fist with her hand which punched her flat side of her opposite one.

"What's that all about?" Evan asked curiously.

Snape gave a sigh. "It means I've done something to offend her." He sent back to Lily a raised shoulders gesture.

Lily gave a dramatic head shake and made a motion that Evan assumed to mean 'later'.

"Guess I'll find out what all that was about in Potions then." Snape shrugged and went back to his breakfast.

It was at that moment that the owls came in, delivering the usual letters and care-packages from home. Evan's paper landed on his place as it usually did and he began his normal brief skimming of the paper's sections.

"You are one of the few students I have ever met that actually reads the paper." Snape said with that blasted calculating look on his face again.

"It was one of the things I did with my Uncle and he wanted me to keep reading it." Evan said as he was passing the sports section.

Snape looked as if he was going to say something, but it appeared as if something on the paper had caught his eye. "Wait go back for a sec."

Evan, who had gotten to the home and gardening section by that point flipped back to the sports sections thinking that's what Snape had wanted.

"No, go back one more."

"The society pages?" Evan questioned as he passed the paper over to Snape. Evan never really paid attention to that part of the paper.

"Thought I saw someone I recognized." Snape said as he unfolded the paper. On the front page were two pictures under a headline announcing _'Black Girls finding happiness and prospering!'_

The picture on the left was of a couple and the right a woman with a baby. The couple on the left showed two beautiful blonde people, the striking male standing with his hand on the shoulder of a delicate looking woman, both with classic aristocratic looks. The two looked to be reserved and not showing much emotion, but every now and then the woman would turn around and look at the man who would look down the woman and the two would share a secret smile.

"Looks like Lucius finally got Narcissa." Mulciber commented, looking over Snape's shoulder.

Evan did a double-take and looked back to the couple. How could he have not noticed! The couple featured on the left was a young Narcissa Malfoy, well Black at the moment, and Lucius Malfoy. It was then that he actually read the beginning of the article underneath the picture.

_Mr. and Mrs. Cyngus Black are pleased to announce the engagement of their daughter Narcissa to the son and heir of Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius. The two engaged in a courting ritual instated by…_

It seemed as if the rest of the article went on to announce the legality of the engagement in the wizarding world. Well, for pureblood traditions sake. That had been one of the more boring weeks in wizard etiquette Evan had to endure.

"Oh, those children will be spoilt." Ganter said from across the table as gestured to the other picture on the page.

Not wanting to be surprised at whom the young mother was holding the child, Evan looked to the article under the picture first.

_Mr. and Mrs. Rudolphous Lestrange are pleased to announce the birth of a son and heir, Saron Lestrange. The heir was born on…_

Reading the article did not help Evan this time. Slowly he looked back up to the picture of the woman holding the baby, and was confused.

The woman holding the baby was indeed, Bellatrix Lestrange, but it was not the same Bellatrix Evan remembered. The Bellatrix Evan remembered was wild and crazy-eyed and looked as if she was a moment away from snapping into insanity. This Bellatrix was still a bit crazy- eyed, but those eyes were not nearly as hooded as they would become and she seemed sort of… calm. Sitting there with her newborn son, stroking his face, it was almost serene.

That was weird, Evan didn't remember her having a son. Then again the child would be in his late 20's early 30's by the time Evan had his interactions with Bellatrix. Evan gave a shrug and decided not to dwell on it too much. Her son was probably following Voldemort as well, but was obviously not as high up as his mother in the ranks.

"Ya going to write a felicitations response?" Ganter inquired of Snape.

"Probably should." Snape said as he folded up the paper. "Mind if I keep this?"

"Go ahead." Evan said with a shrug as he packed up things to go to potions, to his surprise at the fact that Snape was going to write a felicitations response to the engagement announcement.

His Uncle had stressed that when one was an adult, one had to go to many weddings (in Evan's opinion his Uncle had seemed slightly bitter at the time about it), and they had spent that whole week going over what one was to do in response for wedding invitations and engagement announcements. Felicitation responses were usually sent out by either family or those who were close to the bride _and_ groom. Usually felicitations implied that one was closer to the bride, and congratulations were issued if you were closer to the groom.

When had Snape and Narcissa gotten close? Even though you didn't have to be the bestest of friends to send a felicitations response, it implied that Snape and Narcissa had spent time of some sort together.

"Will you be going to the wedding?" Evan asked Snape as they made their way to the dungeons.

Snape however, did not get to answer that question for he was pulled back away from Evan's side.

_Tbc….._

Hee-hee!

Next time- Hogsmeade and Explosions :)

Loved it or hated it, let me know your thoughts in review!

-BongoMonkeys


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I work a lot. I shall not complain this time. I shall only impart that this is now the longest chapter I have EVER written for a story and I hope you all enjoy it! It is my way of apologizing for the delayed update.

I thank you all who reviewed I love it.**Basil to Blithe, sahisdabest**( I appreciate the fact that you took the time to review my story! You're review was far too kind to my attempt at fanfiction), **M.T. **(I am glad that the scene turned out the way it did, I was worried it was a bit too much), **Alex**, **MareG8**,(we shall find out now, Nagini will be found out a bit later), **Cazzylove** , **TaeMint,** **GoddessonmyKnees**, **Azrael Jinsei **( I am glad that Snape is not super OOC! *dances*. I am trying to employ a fair amount of foreshadowing and thrilled to hear it is working!),** Fire-Metal-Horse17**, **TearfullPixie**, **Joe, debygoebel**(we shall find a bit more about it this chapter : ) ) and **AlmondWithUnicornHai****r**.

So much internet thanks and cookies go out to Ginji. She is AWESOME and came up with the name for the book shop and reviewed my story while my beta is busy. Not to mention her dealings with my whining about work and life.

Okay no more ramblings! Enjoy Chapter 9

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter 9**

"Will you be going to the wedding?" Evan asked Snape as they made their way to the dungeons.

Snape however, did not get to answer that question for he was pulled back away from Evan's side.

Evan turned around to see Lily and Snape a bit of a ways behind him. Lily was glowering at Snape as she said something quietly but quickly to him.

"No, I am not that stupid, Lily!" Snape snapped out a response.

Lily seemed to be less angry for a second and a sort of pitying look took her features. She went to put what Evan assumed to be a comforting arm on Snape's shoulder as she started speaking again, but the other boy pulled away from her reach and stalked off in the direction of the potions classroom.

"I don't know what I am going to do with that boy." She sighed as she shook her head.

"What was that all about?" Evan inquired of Lily as the two started walking again.

"Just Sev digging his own grave."

Evan got the feeling he was not getting the full story.

"Anyway, I finished the chapters you said to read last night…" Lily said changing the subject.

"All of them?" It had taken Evan two days to read all the chapters.

"I read fast." Lily said with a shrug. "I agree with you on that we should read chapter 16, but I really don't think that 21 is going to be all that helpful…"

The two continued on the conversation of what to read for the next time they would be discussing the charm, up until they reached their normal desk where Snape was sitting in his usual spot.

This struck Evan as odd, seeing as how put off he had been a couple of minutes ago. Then again, he hadn't really seen Lily and Snape fight before. When Hermione and Ron had gotten into an argument the two would avoid each other for at least half a day before making up again. Maybe Lily was going to sit somewhere else? This was not the case seeing as Lily went to stand at her normal chair on Snape's right as Evan sat in his usual on the left.

It was quiet for a moment, while Snape looked at his desk and Lily stood looking down at him, her arms crossed.

"Sorry, Lily." Snape mumbled not looking at her.

"Sorry for… ?" Lily prompted.

"Sorry for assuming the worst of you, but really Lils, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Okay?" Snape said with an almost pleading tone in his voice, but still sounding like he was reasoning with Lily at the same time.

This seemed to work however, as Lily gave a short nod and sat down in her seat.

Nothing else could be said on the topic for Slughorn had just entered the classroom, the marauders trailing behind. Remus took his seat next to Evan as the other three went off to join their partners for the lesson.

Slughorn began instructing the class on the brew they would next be working on, a simpler one that he had perfected earlier in the summer with his Uncle, which left Evan alone with his thoughts on Snape to plague him during the lecture portion.

_Why did Snape seem to get along with girls so well- was he really some kind of Cassanova? _ Evan shook his head at that thought, really it did seem so over the top.

The fact that Narcissa Malfoy and Snape were close at one point did lead Evan to wonder if Narcissa had also pleaded with Snape to help Draco with his assignment to kill Dumbeldore. Well if she had, it certainly made more sense now.

"Hey, Evan-" Remus' voice brought Evan back to the present "-do you want to prep the work area or get the ingredients?"

"Huh? Uh, I mean I'll prep our area."

Remus gave a nod in response and went off to join the small huddle of students surrounding the student's cupboard of potions ingredients.

Evan's line of vision was than obstructed by a flat piece of wood. "Hey I grabbed you a cutting board." Came Snape's voice from his right.

"Thanks." Evan replied as he went through his bag to bring out the necessary tools for the potion today.

Even though he knew the potion pretty well, he still double checked his book to make sure that the cauldron was supposed to be warmed when the ingredients were first placed in it. After he affirmed what he had already known, Evan ignited the small fire under his cauldron.

While he and Severus were sitting there, waiting for their partners to return with the ingredients, Evan didn't know why, but it was like there was a tension between him and Snape at the moment.

"I didn't know Lily wasn't supposed to know where you uhh, are on Wednesdays." Evan heard himself say.

Snape's face looked up to him in slight shock. "You told her-"

"Well I was studying in the library and she was wondering where you were and I said you went off to some sort of study group on Wednesdays…" Why was Evan apologizing? He wasn't the one sneaking about, doing illegal things. Well that wasn't a hundred percent true, but his sneaking was for good reason!

"Yeah, it's actually a defense against the dark arts club. Study group thing." Snape said as if he wasn't actually sure if he was describing it correctly. "I was actually going to ask you to come, you know, so you could work on your defensive spells but-"

"This potion has the smallest bit of way too many crazy random ingredients!" Lily cried in mock-exhaustion as she laid out the bundle in her arms onto the table.

"That was certainly a unique way of stating that, Lily" Snape commented dryly as he began organizing the ingredients in the order in which they would be added in to the cauldron.

Evan looked over to see Remus dumping his collection of ingredients on their work space as well.

"Right, so how would you like to split this up?" Evan asked Remus. He looked down at the instructions in the book and the fourth item jumped out at him.

_Slice the mandrake root into ¼" strips with a silver knife._

Now Evan had not studied werewolf lore, minus that essay that had been assigned in third year, and was not exactly sure if silver truly was harmful to werewolves…

"We could distribute it by half. I could prep the first five and you could do the second." Remus said as he too arranged their ingredients.

Either, there wasn't a big harm in silver or Remus was hoping that Evan would take the first bit…

"I'll handle the first five items." Evan said with a shrug.

"Oh, good." Remus said sounding just a bit _too relieved. _"I mean, well you're a lot better at potions than I am and this way you can check to make sure the cauldron is ready for the first couple of ingredients." Remus blathered out.

"Right."

With that the two boys worked on their project in a comfortable working silence.

* * *

"So Hogsmeade this Saturday, whose going?" J.D. asked as he flopped onto his bed sometime after dinner later that evening.

Evan looked up from his transfiguration homework that was due tomorrow (he had finished it earlier in the week but was checking over it for spelling). Snape, who was too engrossed in reading that Shakespeare play on his bed, didn't even look up from the text in front of him at the disruption.

"It's the first Hogsmeade weekend of the school year. The only people who will not be going this weekend are the first and second years." Mulciber commented with a snort. He was actually starting his transfiguration homework at the moment.

"I just want to get to Three Broomsticks before the wee ones get there. Been craving a butterbeer like mad, these last couple of weeks." J.D. replied.

These two often did this; have conversations that were directed to the whole room, though it usually ended up with just Mulciber and J.D. talking across the room. Ganter and Nott throwing in comments every now and then, with Evan and Snape not really adding to the conversation at all.

"Severus, are you going to meet up with me and Avery at Carlson's on Saturday?"

Evan tensed just a bit, that would most likely go un-noticed by anyone in the room. While he and Snape had talked about exploring Hogsmeade, it hadn't felt like a definitive plan, maybe Snape would show him around next time…

"No that is quite alright. I have made plans to give Evan a tour of Hogsmeade, seeing as how he is fairly unacquainted with the village." Snape said with an air of indifference as he turned a page in his book.

"Suit yourself." Mulciber said with a shrug and went back to his transfiguration homework for a minute before starting another random conversation with J.D. about how he thought homework was a waste of time.

Evan chanced a glance over at Snape, why he didn't know-maybe to thank him for sticking to their tentative plan- only to catch the other boys' eyes. Snape made a motion with his head towards Mulciber and gave a small eye roll while mouthing something that looked similar to 'dunderhead'.

Evan stifled a small laugh as he nodded in agreement. It was strange, as he set out to finish the revising, the small amount of worry of what Snape would choose or not seemed silly and now strangely absent.

* * *

Evan had had worse walks to Hogsmeade village in his time as a student. The air had been cold, but crisp when he had gone on his jog earlier that morning around the school. But now, as they walked down the path towards the village, the wind was adding a slight chill to the air, making Evan crave a warm butterbeer.

"So, what's the big deal about Hogsmeade?" Evan asked Snape as they made their way to the village.

"I'm not sure if it is a big deal." Snape said slowly. "More so, that it is somewhere to go other than Hogwarts for a change."

"I can see that."

"So I thought we would start at the farther end of the village and work our way towards the front." Snape suggested. "This way we hopefully miss out on all the third years that will just attack the first shop they see."

"Which one is that?" Evan asked, even though he knew it was The Three Broomsticks.

"Three broomsticks, it's a pub."

"Isn't that where J.D. wanted to go first?"Evan asked, recalling the conversation from the other night.

"Yes, that was J.D.'s first choice of destination, however he tends to jump head first into situations often."

"You think the pub will be less crowded later?"

"It is always filled to the brim with patrons, especially on Hogwarts weekends. It has been my experience however, that if you enter later you get faster service, seeing as how everyone else in the pub has been served already and are mostly just talking with one another at that point."

"Makes sense." Evan agreed.

They were just crossing Hogsmeade station and arriving into the village. On his left Evan saw a building he knew all too well, with a lone cloaked figure leaning on the fence in front of it.

"What's that over there?" Evan asked indicating with a gesture to the Shack.

Snape gave a small shudder. "They say it was built for a family, couple years back. Story is though, that some ghosts came in and took over. They tend to get pretty rowdy at night, that's what the villagers say."

"Why does no one go over there?" Evan asked still looking at the figure.

"Would you want to go hang around haunted ground?" Snape asked pointedly. "Besides, just being over there gives people the chills."

Evan strongly resisted the urge to run over to the fence, hop it and go ring the doorbell. He knew it wasn't really haunted, what the house's design was truly for. But his own memories of that home were haunted. Sirius, Pettigrew, where Nagini had… Evan looked once back more to his companion, who was looking over his shoulder.

"What is that man doing over there?" Snape asked aloud.

As if the man had heard them, which was impossible seeing as how far away the fence surrounding the home was from the main road, he gave a stretch and lowered his hood to reveal a familiar head of brown wavy hair.

Before the man turned around, Evan knew who it was. "It's my Uncle." He said flatly. The man turned around and regarded him with a cool expression. With no need for his Uncle to motion him over, Evan walked the distance towards the man leaving a confused Snape behind.

As he began to walk over to his Uncle, the man turned and leaned against the fence so his forearms were resting on it once again.

"What are you doing here?" Evan asked bluntly as he arrived next to Michael.

"Preparing myself to face that place again."

Evan knew when and what his Uncle would be facing the next time he entered the building.

"I haven't found the species yet." Evan said quickly, hoping to get answers before Snape decided to walk over and join them. Even though the idea that Snape would actually walk over without invitation seemed silly.

"Keep searching, you will find your answers." Michael took in a deep breath as he looked to the side. "Come on, let us not creep dear Severus out for too much longer." Michael gave another stretch and the two began walking towards the path again.

"Is it still strange to see him so young, because to be honest it still freaks me out sometimes." Evan told his Uncle.

"It always will be unsettling."

"Where did you go?" Evan asked of his older self.

"Last year, to buy and fix up the cottage."

Evan hid the shock of the statement from his face. He knew his Uncle had travelled in time, he just didn't know how much the fates would allow.

"You will see me once more, than I will be able to answer more of your questions." Michael muttered out of the side of his mouth. "For now, why don't you introduce me to your friend?" He said a bit loudly as they approached Snape.

The two came upon the teenager rather quickly and knowing he was probably being tested on the introduction, Evan took the job of introducing the two wizards.

"Uncle Michael, current heir and holder of the Michaels' estates, may I have the pleasure of introducing you to the current heir to the house of Prince, Mister Severus Snape."

"Greeting in kind, Mister Snape." Michael said holding his hand out to the dark haired teenager, and if Evan didn't know any better, he would have thought his Uncle's hand was shaking.

"Kind greetings, Mister Michaels." Snape said meeting his Uncle's hand to shake it with his nervousness displayed in the form of a slight pinking of his cheeks.

The hand shake was neither long nor short, but it seemed to Evan that his Uncle had tried his best not to yank his hand back quickly.

"Now, I must get back to work. I mostly came because you had mentioned this weekend and I realized I had not left you much spending money." Michael said reaching into his cloak and pulling out a small coin purse.

While his Uncle had left him some money in his trunk, Evan took the small coin purse and was surprised at how heavy it felt.

"That really isn't necessary…" Evan said as he made a slight movement, as if to return the bag to the previous owner.

"Nonsense, I am your guardian at present. Since I am unable to treat you to lunch today, I insist that you use some of those funds to take you and your friends out to lunch today." Michael said in a firm tone.

Before Snape or Evan could argue with that statement, Michael began speaking again.

"Right, I must be off. Keep in touch Evan." Michael said while squeezing Evan's shoulder in a warm manner. "Mister Snape, it was a pleasure meeting you." Michael said with an inclination of his head. The older man then made his way down the street and down an alleyway, presumably so he could find a suitable apparition point.

"So that's your Uncle?" Snape asked at the retreating figure's back.

"Yeah, that's Michael."

"His name is Michael Michaels?" Snape asked, raising an eyebrow as they made their way back down the path.

"Nah, his name is Evan Michaels. But I call him Michael, it just would have been too confusing otherwise."

"Suppose so." Snape said with a slight shrug.

The two made their way down the street, the crowd of students thinning out as they reached the back of Hogsmeade's high street.

Severus led Evan down the pathway that would one day lead to Madame Pudifoot's, but for now it was the bookstore Evan had seen when he and his Uncle had come to talk to Dumbledore about his transfer.

"Grove's Twice Read Tales, it's a new and used bookshop, with a small café." Snape explained as he pushed the door open, leading them into a cozy looking shop. On the right were several squashy armchairs next to small round table where patrons were sitting, either reading or working on something and sipping tea. The rest of the store seemed to be stuffed to the seams with bookshelves and stacks of books in the middle of random isles.

"It may not seem to be organized, but once you know the system it makes complete sense." Snape said as they made their way around a stack of books.

"How often do you come here?"

"A fair-"

"Ahh! Severus! I was wondering when you would stop by!" A warm male voice said cheerfully from behind them.

Evan turned to see a fit young man in dark brown wizards robes, with a dark yellow apron on over them, his hands busy drying a medium sized glass.

"Mr. Groves!" Snape said with a rare smile on his face.

"Come to use my shop as a library, once again?" Mr. Groves said with a teasing tone to his voice.

"Nah, we just got a new transfer student and he has yet to journey to Hogsmeade and I decided to give him a tour of the high-street."

Evan this is Mr. Groves."

"Nice to meet ya, Evan. Feel free to look around gentleman. Ahh, there is someone over at the counter, eyeing the scones- if you'll excuse me." With a nod the man left them to attend to his other customers.

"Would you like to browse, for just a bit?" Snape asked Evan.

"Sure, is there a magical creatures section?" Evan asked thinking immediately of his current dilemma.

"Yes, it is over here." Snape lead Evan to a section towards a section of books that was halfway through the store.

"I'm going to go peruse through the potions books real quick." Snape announced.

"Sure, I'll meet you over there in a bit." Evan replied as he scanned the shelves for books about snakes.

The small book store had a fair selection of books about reptiles, but it seemed most of the books were about a certain sub-species and seemed a bit too small to hold a lot of information, Evan noted as he ran his finger along the spines of several books.

After a couple of minutes of browsing, Evan was about to go and join Snape in the potions section when a thick leather bound book caught his eye. Pulling the tome from the shelf, the title in thick embossed letters spelled out :_ Les_ _Serpents__: Propriétés __et des capacités dans__des potions et des_ _sortilèges_ . Below the title was a picture of a dark green snake, sleeping upon a rock in the middle of a sunny field.

Evan opened the book and browsed through the pages. There were pages of information and it appeared to have more pictures of snakes than his current book had. He would need a good translation charm, seeing as how his French was essentially non-existent, but this book would probably be an incredible asset in his research.

The only trouble was he didn't want Snape to start getting suspicious of his obsession with snakes. He could always pay for the book now and see if the shop keeper, Mr. Groves, would send it to him.

Making a quick decision, Evan began to walk over to the counter where Mr. Groves was sitting and reading a book, stealing glances as he walked to make sure Snape wasn't nearby.

"Excuse me, Mr. Groves?"

Amber eyes snapped up to meet his and the brunette wizard smiled at him.

"What can I help you with?" Mr. Groves asked as he shut his book.

"I was hoping to purchase this book, but I uh, don't feel like lugging it around town and was wondering if you would be able to deliver it to the school?"

"That's no problem. There is just a five sickle fee for delivery." Groves said getting a form from a drawer behind the counter. "What book were you purchasing?"

Evan lugged the thick book onto the counter top.

Mr. Groves looked slightly surprised for a moment, then shook his head a bit. When he met Evan's eyes again, his face had the look that Evan was tired of seeing on adult's faces, the 'oh-you-young-naïve-child-you' face.

"I am not sure this book is in your price range." Mr. Groves said in a voice that was gentle, yet not demeaning.

"I'm sure it is well within my price range." Evan wished to speed up this transaction, he really didn't want Snape to know what he was up to. "How much is the book?"

With the same placating look Mr. Groves spoke again. "That particular book," he said gesturing to the item in question that lay between them "is 63 galleons."

It was the extensive training with his Uncle that summer that stopped his jaw from hitting the floor and allowed him to reach into his cloak for the small coin purse Michael had given him earlier that day. That was an awful lot of money to spend on a book, but his gut was telling him this book was crucial to his success.

As Evan opened the pouch, he hid a snort. What his Uncle called 'some spending money' turned out to be a small fortune. There was a folded note at the top, which he could read later, next to some small slips of paper that Evan figured were bank drafts. Underneath these papers, were what appeared to be a never-ending supply of gold galleons, there was no doubt in his mind that this bag had been charmed to hold more inside than the outside let on.

Hiding his smirk, which he probably did not do very well, Evan asked Mr. Groves simply, "Galleons or bank-draft?"

Mr. Groves seemed floored for a moment. "I would prefer galleons…"Mr. Groves said slowly as if he did not believe Evan had the money on him.

Evan pulled out his wand and muttered a spell under his breath that his Uncle had taught him that summer. It could be used with several things such as cooking, potions or gardening; anything that required you to use a certain number of a small objects from a larger sum.

As he finished the spell the galleons ascended from the coin purse and arranged themselves neatly in six stacks of ten. Evan reached into the bag and pulled out four more galleons.

"What do you say we make it an even 64, including delivery?" Evan asked as the last four galleons hit the counter.

Mr. Groves nodded and he slid the form over to Evan with a quill. Evan quickly filled out the form and passed it back over to Mr. Groves who had been double checking the amount of galleons on the counter.

"Expect your book to arrive in the next two days Mr. Michaels."

Evan gave a short nod. "Thank you."

Evan turned on his heel and set off to find Snape. As Evan went towards the potions area, he saw the familiar head of black hair in the classic literature (Muggle and Wizard!) section.

"Whatchya lookin' at?" Evan asked as he came up behind the other boy.

"Nothing!" Snape yelped in surprise as shoved an embossed leather bound book back onto the shelf, the only word on the title Evan was able to pick out was "mid".

"No need to freak, it's just me Severus." Evan said with a roll of his eyes.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!" Snape snapped as he started walking out of the section.

"I didn't sneak up on you," Evan said with an eye-roll, "you were just too involved in the book you were reading."

"You are entitled to your opinions, no matter how wrong it they may be." Snape said with a sniff.

Evan let out a small laugh as the two left the store to finish the tour of Hogsmeade.

* * *

"So what did you two end up doing today?" Lily asked Evan and Snape as the three entered The Three Broomsticks later that day.

The place was crowded, but not nearly as full as Zonko's and Honeydukes had been earlier.

"There's an empty booth over there." Evan said leading the way to a booth towards the back of the pub.

The three friends made their way to the booth and as they settled down Evan spoke up again. "Order anything you want, it's on me."

"What no! Evan, I can't let you pay for me." Lily said while Snape replied with a small "You sure Evan?"

"Sev, you're okay with him paying?" Lily asked incredulously, her eyes wide in surprise.

"Well his Uncle insisted as much earlier…" Snape said trailing off.

"Uncle?" Lily said with a confused look.

Evan relayed the story of his Uncle approaching them earlier in the day and explained how he had given him some money to spend, but he was also to buy his friends lunch.

"If you're sure…" Lily said when Evan was done with his explanation.

There was no more room for argument as a younger Madame Rosmerta came over to their table smiling as if she has just laughed for a large amount of time.

"What can I get for you?"

"Lily, are you getting butterbeer?" Snape asked Lily, who nodded in reply. "Three butterbeers, please." Snape ordered for the three of them.

Rosmerta nodded and made a note on her pad of parchment and ventured back into the crowded pub.

"Besides the surprise visit from your Uncle, what else did you guys do today?" Lily asked, revisiting the topic from earlier.

"Well after that we sorta made our way up the street, looking around most of the shops."

"How long did he make you spend in Grove's?" Lily asked Evan while sending a knowing smile in Snape's direction.

"I shall have you know that we did not spend our whole afternoon there, Lily."

"Oh, and we went in on a treat at Honeydukes for Slughorn's Halloween party on Friday." Evan told Lily, ignoring the exchange between her and Snape.

"Ohh, what did you guys get?"

"The holiday edition of Treacle Fudge."

"Nice, I just grabbed a small bag of chocolate cauldrons."

"We figured since we were both getting it, it should have been a bit nicer." Evan replied.

"Slughorn won't care all that much, as long as he has enough sugar there to rot all of our teeth." Snape said with a snort.

"Here you are, three butterbeers." Madame Rosmerta announced as she set down the three overflowing glasses on their table. "Let me know if you need anything else." She said with a smile and left as quickly as she came.

Each teenager reached out for a glass and held the warm glass in their hands for a moment, before taking sips of their beverage.

Making sure he wouldn't give away his previous knowledge of the drink, Evan schools his features and actions as tentative. Oh, how Evan had missed butterbeer. The rich warmth of the beverage went down his throat and tingled all the way down to his fingers and toes.

"What do you think?" Snape's voice asked him.

Opening his eyes, which he hadn't realized he had closed, he turned and smiled at his two friends. "Brilliant."

This action rewarded him with equal grins from his two companions.

"You should have seen Lily here when she had her first one." Snape said holding back a laugh.

"Sev! It wasn't that funny!" Lily argued hotly, but the amusement in her eyes was plain to see.

"She took the daintiest sip, slowly approaching her glass as if it might attack at any moment" Snape demonstrated the action, his eye narrowing at his drink, as if dubious to the contents. He picked up the glass and eyed the froth on top suspiciously before taking it slowly to his face and took the smallest sip from the glass.

"Then her eyes got all wide and crazy looking!" Snape attempted to make his eyes large, which was rather amusing sight and caused Lily and Evan to roll their eyes at him.

"Alas, I am unable to recreate the pure perfection of the way her face contorted." Snape then glanced over to Lily. "Lily make the face!" Snape pleaded.

"No!"

"Please Lily! Evan has to see it!"

"I don't want to, you guys are going to laugh…"

"Lily if the boy is going to be our friend, we must make sure he understands how funny this moment was, it was a moving point in our friendship."

"We had already been friends for years, Sev." Lily replied with an eye-roll

"Come on, please!" Snape asked with a small pout which was so awkward looking it forced Lily to laugh.

"All right, I'll do it-" Lily said through her laughing fit "-just stop making that face!"

Taking a deep breath in, as if to calm herself, Lily bent down to her glass, in the same manner as Snape just had, and took a tentative sip, than lurched back away from her drink.

Her eyes bugged out of her skull the green becoming even more prominent, dark red eyebrows shot to the top of her hairline and her mouth was open in a small 'o'. She looked like a small child who had just discovered the secret to all good things, and the answer was in her grasp.

The look was lost quickly as the table full of teenagers burst into pales of laughter.

"The best part- " Snape managed to say in between breaths "-was a second after that, she chugged the whole thing down like an adolescent male would do to his first ale at a party."

"Sev is exaggerating Evan, don't listen to him." Lily said as she tossed her red hair over her shoulder, a smile working its way onto her face.

"Evan, seriously, this beverage was gone in 30 seconds flat." Snape countered.

"Was not!" Lily replied petulantly, sticking her tongue out.

"Rosmerta had barely even made it across the bar!"

"Are you three talking about this one's first butterbeer?" A female voice asked from somewhere behind Evan. He turned and saw Madame Rosmerta holding empty pint glasses in one hand, her other resting on her hip.

"See Lily! Even Rosmerta remembers that fateful encounter!" Snape said with a smirk.

"Wish I had a camera for that one, let me tell you." Madame Rosmerta smiled at the memory. "You three need anything else?" When the three shook their head 'no' she wandered back into the crowd, smiling to herself.

There was a pause.

"Hey Lily…. Do the face one more time?" Snape received a glare before the whole table was laughing again.

* * *

"Right, so according to this" Lily said indicating to a paragraph in her book, "for actual spells to make one's self invisible, you are supposed to start by just being able to make a finger disappear, than the whole hand. Wonder why that is?" Lily asked, looking up from her book to Evan, who had laid out their notes from the chapters across a desk.

It was Wednesday and the two had agreed to meet in one of the unused charms classrooms to work on the disillusionment charm.

"I think it has something to do with how when people grow, the outer extremities are the first. Not to mention all the nerve endings in the hand." Evan said while surveying the notes one more time before crossing over the room to stand next to Lily.

As he passed the door of the room, he threw up a small ward his Uncle had taught him over the summer. The nature of the ward was to hide the identity and power of the individuals inside the area, but would still allow a person to enter the vicinity. He could have made it so no one could enter the classroom, but he wasn't sure if Hogwarts would let him and he wasn't going to risk it.

Evan had done a great deal of thinking and decided that if he was going to try and practice the disillusionment charm in earnest, he would need to learn how to do it using all of his power, hence the need for the ward. There wasn't much danger of doing so in front of Lily, she was not a fully trained witch and Evan highly doubted that she had learned to feel the skill of detecting other wizards' powers, at the most she would feel a slight tingle as most wizards would when there was a shift of magic in a small space. Once he was sure the ward was in place, Evan dropped the shield on his magic.

Lily let out a small gasp and dropped her book.

"You okay Lily?" Evan used picking up the dropped book as a means of making sure his face would show concern for his friend and not his own fear of incorrectly judging Lily's ability to perceive magic.

By the time Evans eye's met back up with Lily's, the girl seemed to have recovered from the shift.

"Sorry, don't know what that was about." She glanced at Evan with an unreadable expression before shaking her head. "So the wand movements are down to the left, circle and point?" Lily clarified as she made the movements.

"Paired with the word order-" Evan walked back to the other side of the room and picked up a piece of paper where he had written the incantation instructions down. "-_In_, the wand goes down to the left, _observa_ is when you make the circle, and when you say _tus_ you are supposed to point and be thinking of what you want to make invisible."

Giving a short nod to show her understanding, Lily displayed true Gryffindor fashion by jumping and testing the spell.

Holding out her left hand before her, she spoke in a clear voice "_Inobservatus!_" Her wand work was a bit jagged and not as fluid as it should have been, but still a thin iridescent mist fell from her wand over her pointer finger.

She turned to Evan and smirked. "Not the best first go, but at least I managed a bit of reaction."

"The book said that may happen on the first couple of tries. I think where it needs work was possible when you were going into the circle. There was a pause in the movements where it probably should have been more fluid."

"Well if you're so clever, you try." While the words could have been interpreted badly, the tone they were said in was warm and teasing.

A sudden need to do this correctly filled Evan. He would do this right, he would impress Lily. Wait.. why was it so important to him to show off for Lily? He took his gaze away from his hand and looked into the smiling encouraging face of Lily and it hit him- he wanted to impress his mother.

It was a feeling he had not felt since he was probably around three, there was a vague memory of himself being so proud of a drawing he had done, and he had remembered Aunt Petunia always praising Dudley on his drawings, and he remembered showing her his, in hopes that- _no._ This was not the correct time to be thinking of that.

Clearing his mind of haunting memories, Evan focused onto the task at hand.

"_Inobservatus!_"

The same iridescent mist fell over his finger, but unlike when Lily had done the charm the mist did not dissipate. The mist seemed to settle around his pointer finger, before encompassing it snugly, much like a glove made just for his finger.

Evan gave a wiggle to his finger, it was strange seeing nothing moving on his hand, but being able to feel the appendage moving. Turning to Lily and trying not to be over zealous about his success, he showed her his hand.

A look of shock passed over Lily's features, before settling into a warm smile. "Brilliant!" She walked over to his side of the room to pick up a piece of paper. "It says here, that once you have been able to cast the spell the first time, you ought to see how long you can hold the spell for. Which you know, works out just perfectly." Lily finished in a matter-of-fact voice.

"How's that?"

"You can show me exactly where my wand work went wrong." Lily's face was smiling, but her voice was determined.

Evan let out a small laugh. "All right then. Now, focus on your wand movements being as one and not as parts." Evan went through the wand movements with her a couple of more times, until he felt that Lily was ready to try the spell again.

The second time Lily tried the spell she was successful in making her finger disappear for a moment, though not for very long.

They decided to call it a night after that and Evan put his shields back up and cancelled the wards on the room as they left.

As he went to turn the door knob he realized he had maintained the spell on his own finger the entire time. Cancelling the charm as he opened the door, Evan wondered if Lily had noticed that he held the charm up the whole time.

* * *

"Mr. Snape, Mr. Michaels! You have made it to my little celebration!" Slughorn cried out cheerily- and slightly slurred as if he had indulged a bit in his whiskey- he opened the door to the classroom that had been chosen to host his Halloween party this year. "Come in, drink and be merry!"

As they crossed the threshold into the classroom the door was closed after them, and Slughorn was off talking to one of his guests, who Evan recognized as one of the sports writers for _The Daily Prophet_.

"I am so glad he decided to not go over the top this year." Snape's dead-panned voice, which Evan had learnt was mostly used for sarcasm, commented as they walked over to the beverage table.

Evan let out a small chuckle Slughorn's idea of a 'little celebration' was very similar to his Uncle's definition of a 'a little spending money'. The classroom had been doubled in size and in each corner were giant pumpkins, which made the ones in the great hall earlier seem like miniatures.

There was something that seemed very much like muggle streamers hanging from the ceiling, the main difference between these and their muggle counterparts, were that these streamers were sparkling and shifting shapes.

"Hey Sev, Evan." Lily's voice broke Evan out of his analysis of the room.

"Have you figured out which punch bowl is spiked yet?" Snape asked while critically eyeing the three bowls containing different beverages. The first seemed to be green, but the color was hard to tell as a grey smoke was continually spilling over the edge, the second bowl held what appeared to be butterbeer(this is what Lily was drinking), the third held some kind of drink that was dark red and looked syrupy.

"Not yet. Though I heard talk of someone putting in some kind of alcohol that will take longer to reach the digestive tract, but when it does- look out." Lily said with a slightly fearful look.

"I highly doubt that there are very many people here intelligent enough to pull something like that off." Snape commented in a dry voice while serving himself some butterbeer.

Evan tuned Lily and Snape out as they started debating about how one would go through the process of altering the alcohol, while Evan poured himself some butterbeer.

"Where should I put this?" Evan asked pulling the treacle fudge from his robes.

"The candy assortment is on the table over there-" Lily pointed to a black table across the room piled with every sweet imaginable, and went straight back to her conversation with Snape "-no Severus, you seriously think that Dixie excrement would be a viable ingredient choice!"

"I'll just go put this over there, I guess." Evan really did not want to get into the middle of one of their potion debates.

The two hummed some sort of acknowledgement in his direction and Evan figured that was the best response he would get from the two at the moment and went to put his fudge on the table Lily had indicated.

"Hey Michaels." Evan turned to see Nott was the one who had addressed him.

"Nott." He and Nott really didn't speak much except when they were partnered in class.

Apparently Nott hadn't really thought about what to say next. "So do you follow quidditch?"

"Here and there, not really much of a player myself, I hear you guys play in house teams here."

"Yeah, we have a fair team right now. Just heard its Slytherin against Gryffindor as the first match, we'll probably get flattened by Gryffindor. Black usually is good at catching the snitch, but Potter always seems to flatten us when it comes to scoring." If Evan knew better he would say Nott had almost been babbling a bit toward the end there.

"Black..?"

"Oh, little Regulus Black." Nott took a swig of the dark red stuff. "He's a year behind us. Made seeker in his second year, intense little kid, very into care of magical creatures."

Nott never really talked this much, Evan wondered why he was as he watched the other boy take another long gulp of his drink.

"Lily is being quite unreasonable in her thinking and I do not wish to hear her crazy notions any longer. How long does it take to put fudge on a table anyway?" Snape's impatient voice grew closer. "Oh, hello Victor."

"Oh, Severus you are too stuffy!" Nott said with what sounded like a giggle and shook his head.

"How many of those have you had, Nott?" Evan asked as he watched the boy chug down the rest of his drink.

"I dunno I think… I think this was my fifth… They are quite delicious in the flavor that it… Severus how do you speak so equestrian like all the time?" Victor's face contorted in confusion.

"I think I know which bowl was spiked." Evan muttered to Snape.

"I think the answer to that question, has indeed been answered." Snape replied his eyes sparkling with amusement. "I believe the word you were looking for was eloquent Victor. Seeing as how one cannot speak 'equestrian like'."

"I dunno," Evan said through a long breath. "Maybe you have been holding out on us, Severus and know the secret language of horseback riders."

A moment of confusion passed over Snape's features, but before he was allowed to say anything Nott had decided there had been enough of a lull in the conversation.

"You know, sometimes I think it is silly to be here- but then I remember all the fantastic connections you can make and I hope it is worth-" Nott stopped suddenly. "Severus! I think I have ingested alcohol!" he announced as if the thought had just entered his head.

"You must be joking, Victor you appear to be the definition of sobriety."

"Oh hear comes Evans. She really is very pretty, even for a muggle-born. Such a shame you know, Severus since-"

"Sev I concede on the beetle eyes, but you must agree that frogs legs could do the trick as well." Lily broke into the conversation effectively cutting off whatever Nott was going to say.

"I think I should take Victor here to the infirmary." Snape announced looking very uncomfortable about something.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Evan offered, he really had never liked Slughorn's parties. Not to mention he kind of wanted to know what Nott was going to say.

"I don't want to go see Pomfrey." Victor whined.

"Victor I think you shall regret the decision to not leave now. You may make a spectacle of yourself."

"But the hospital wing always smells funny."

Snape let out a sigh. "I will let you review my potions notes."

"Really?" Nott's head perked up. "Lead the way!" As the two were leaving it looked as if a drunken Nott was taking Severus away from the party, and not the other way around.

"I'm surprised that's all it took." Evan said a second later after the two were gone.

"Nott isn't very good at potions and Sev doesn't really like talking about potions to people who don't understand the subject. Nott's been trying to get Sev to help him in the subject for years." Lily replied.

"Severus talks about potions with me all the time." Evan said in confusion.

"Yeah but you _are _good in potions, Evan." Lily countered.

Evan was about to correct Lily, that really he wasn't, when Slughorn came up from behind them.

"Oh, Miss Evans is quite right Mr. Michaels!" Lily and Evan whipped around to face their potions professor.

"Err, I am not-" Evan started to say.

"Now- shhh" Slughorn said placing a finger on the tip of his nose- to denote secrecy "I really shouldn't be telling you this, but as it stands you two and Mr. Snape are tied for top marks in potions for your year."

Evan's mouth dropped before he could think about how silly that would look. He looked to Lily who was blushing.

"Oh it appears as if Celestina has arrived- excuse me." Slughorn trotted off to go greet his guest.

"You shouldn't look so surprised, Evan." Lily said, her face regaining some normal color.

"Yeah, but I've never really had top marks…" _well almost in DADA, but never in potions._ He finished mentally.

Lily looked at him as if she was analyzing him. "Evan you are probably within the top 10 in every subject. You study like crazy, you're parents are probably going to be bragging when winter grades come out to all their friends."

"Ummm, they probably won't be actually." Evan felt incredibly uncomfortable all of sudden. Which he supposed he really would be, if his background story was true.

"Why-" Lily started in an almost offended tone, Evan looked over to her and something in his face must have stopped her from speaking.

Looking into those green eyes, Evan knew he couldn't say what he was about to while looking at Lily Evans. Settling his eyes on afar piece of stone wall far away, Evan started speaking quietly.

"My parents… they disappeared a couple of months back. I haven't heard from them since. It's why I'm in my Uncle's guardianship and why I go to Hogwarts now." Evan finished looking down at the floor. From Lily's soft intake of breath when he had started speaking he knew she could put the pieces together. People had been disappearing more and more recently, it didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

A hand came to rest upon his shoulder and it felt as if Evan could feel warmth and comfort flooding his body just from Lily's hand alone.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea." Came Lily's soft voice.

"It's all right. I really don't like talking about it." Evan chanced a look over at Lily and was slightly surprised to see the girl's eyes were watering. "I'm surprised Severus didn't tell you…"

"Sev knows?" Lily sounded a bit shocked. She shook her head a moment later. "Evan, Sev may seem a bit rough around the edges but he is always there when you need him. You can trust him with anything." There was a pause. "The same goes for me, if you ever need anything, just ask… I'm here for you."

Evan had to tear away from that comforting gaze and stare at the floor so he could put the swell of emotions that coursed through him at the words he had just heard from his mother behind his shields. He had the feeling if he didn't, he would start crying.

There was a boom that caused half the people in the room to jump.

"Oh, sorry about that! Just having some problems with the amplifying charms on the record player!" Slughorn's drunken voice called out merrily over a mild sonorous charm.

Evan had nearly forgotten where they were.

"I think he is drunker than he was at this time last year." Lily announced, as if sensing Evan's need for a change of subject.

He smiled at her gratefully. "Just how many people end up getting pissed at this party?"

The rest of the evening was spent in a lighter manner with Snape coming down a bit later, when the music had been hooked up and began complaining about the atrocious dancing his fellow students were participating in.

As Evan watched the sporadic movements of his peers, while listening to the amusing commentary from Snape, he scratched at his forehead and figured he had had much worse Halloweens this one.

* * *

"Hey Lupin can you pass me the pine needles?" Evan asked his partner as he methodically turned the potion. Remus passed the needles into Evan's outstretched hand and watched as Evan dropped the needles in one after another with a clockwise turn in-between each added needle.

"Now what?" Lupin snapped as the cauldron turned navy in color.

"Now we have it simmer for five minutes." Evan set a timer and sat down. He looked over at Lily and Snape to see where they were. Their potion was now a bright yellow and bubbling. Damn the two were always one step ahead of him. Lily caught his eye and smiled before helping Snape bring down the flame on their cauldron.

As he watched the two friends go to the front of the class to bicker about what kind of phial would be best to put their potions, he let his mind wander to the last month. It was the 18th of November and the last couple of weeks had been relatively calm.

Lily never mentioned the conversation between the two of them at Halloween, but he noticed she seemed a bit more cautious about what she said in front of him, which really wasn't necessary. The two of them had continued to work on the disillusionment charm and while Evan could now manage to have his whole hand disappear, but he could only hold it for five minutes. Lily was not far behind and had just mastered holding the charm on all five fingers for a lengthy period of time. According to their notes, by the time they could hold the charm on the whole arm, the rest of the body would be much easier.

"How much longer?" Lupin asked with a bit of impatience in his voice, breaking Evan out of his thoughts.

"Just another two minutes." Evan said after checking his timer.

"I'm just ready for this day to be over." Lupin muttered with a quick glance to the sky.

Evan lost all his annoyance at Remus. He really needed to find a subtle way of marking his calendar when a full moon would come.

Evan looked down at the notes to make sure that the heat was supposed to go to a full flame after the five minutes when he heard a strange sizzling. He looked up into his cauldron and saw that it had turned a dark angry orange color. Not knowing what had gone wrong but as he watched the orange becoming brighter and brighter, until it was almost neon in color, he knew what was going to happen.

"Remus, move!" He nearly yelled, as he shoved the other boy.

Remus didn't go very far and Evan barely had enough time to spell the cauldron so the spray wouldn't go too far, cover his face and throw up a shield charm over Remus and was almost done with his own when he heard the cauldron give a loud belch and the contents erupted.

_Tbc…_

* * *

Hee hee! There is the next installment! I hope it was a good one!

Liked it or hated it? Leave me a review and make me feel warm and fuzzy.

Next time: Quidditich and Christmas cheer.

-BongoMonkeys


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** *hides from angry readers* I am so sorry this update is so delayed! The chapter itself isn't as long as it was supposed to be and real life got in the way in the form of crazy bridal showers and me moving again for University.

On that note I may be moving updates to twice a month or once a month. This depends on my course load this semester and how much I procrastinate.

But for now I hope you enjoy Chapter 10!

I would like to thank you who reviewed. I know not everyone who reads, reviews, but they truly make my day : ). So much thanks to: **TaeMint****, ****FelineWolf** ( I am so glad you like it, which is what I think your thoughts were. As far as Evan remembering that he will be Michael, it is more intrinsically he knows he will one day be that person, but can't think like that because it could be dangerous, so there is a mind block there, if you will. What confuses you? I'd be happy to answer any specific questions you have :). As far as pureblood manners go different cultures have different mannerisms, whether it be ethnic or even in different socio-ecnomic status', they are minute but they exist. I feel the pureblood system would have its own set of codes.), **Madrea Salazar Riddle**( I think you will enjoy this chapter!), **Nightshade's sydneylover150**, **KneazleGriff**( I am glad you enjoyed Hogsmeade and the three's interaction. Nott is a bit silly when he drinks, apparently. I hope Evan is okay too!) **Arfa**, **Travis Castiel Olivera**, **Lou**(Haha, your review made me smile, because I have definitely done that before! I hope you got your work done!) **TearfullPixie**, **BasiltoBlithe**, **GoddessonmyKnees**(I shall neither confirm or deny your suspicions ;) And we shall learn more about the potion later), **D.** **Akisira R.T.M.S**( I am so glad you like the story! Harry is not supposed to change the past and I really cannot say more without ruining the story, but I has plans :3) **patheticboneslover****, Mia Tun **(Sorry about the delayed update! I consider myself warned as well)**Cazzylove****, ****Deby Magid**( you are about to find out!)

And eternal gratitude to **Ginji**, who has been acting as beta and helping with wondrous things like kola nuts and making sure the update happened!

Onto Chapter 10!

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter 10**

"-doing here."

"-potion… where…."

Evan's whole body felt heavy, where was he? The air here had an awfully familiar taste…

He heard a groan from somewhere.

"I think he is coming to, would you go get Pomfrey?" A low voice asked, followed by the sound of someone walking into the distance.

Something warm and comforting left his hand before he heard a rustle of two people approaching.

"Mr. Snape if you wouldn't mind just holding him up please?" Evan knew that voice.

A thin arm snaked around behind his back and pulled his body to an upright position. As if in defiance of the movement, his body made another audible sound of displeasure.

"Mr. Michaels, are you aware enough to drink something for me?" The familiar voice spoke again in a soothing voice.

Not really because he was aware of his surroundings, but more because he was used to this dance, Evan opened his mouth and drank whatever liquid was poured into it. There were traces of bitter-root and powdered kola nut, Evan recognized these as common ingredients to help with glamour potions.

His eyes flew open to take in the all-too-familiar surroundings of the hospital wing and the annoyed but smiling face of Madame Pomfrey.

Evan thought he heard the sound of a girl gasping, but right now he had to focus on his appearance, how it would look to other people. He closed his eyes quickly and threw up a minor glamour that would make his appearance look the same as it had for the last couple of months to counteract whatever the potion may try to do. He wasn't sure what exactly was going on, but if someone was trying to cancel out charms on his appearance… there could be disastrous ramifications to say the least.

"There see, starting to work just fine already." The younger Madame Pomfrey said soothingly.

Evan chanced his eyes open again, now that he was sure the potion would not ruin the potion he had taken earlier in the year, and took in his surroundings.

To his left was Snape who looked like he had been sitting for awhile, his Shakespeare book propped open on the bedside table. Madame Pomfrey was on his right and Evan could see a shaken Lily behind her.

Pomfrey gave Lily and Snape a stern look. "I will let you visit for five minutes, but after that Mr. Michaels will need his rest."

After receiving promises from the two teens that they would leave when their five minutes were up, Lily took the seat to his right.

"What happened?" Evan managed to sit up in the hospital bed, but his whole body felt like Grawp had decided to use him for hugging practice.

"Someone sabotaged your potion and it exploded." Snape stated as if these facts had already been confirmed.

"We don't know if that's true Sev."

Evan turned to look at Lily who seemed shocked.

"What happened to your forehead?" The red-head asked, pointing to the body part in question.

"What?!" Evan's hand flew to his forehead, only to make contact with some kind slimy substance.

"Don't touch it!" Snape's hand slapped his own away. "Most of the potion hit your robes, but some of it landed on your face and in your hair, your hair was turning strange colors for awhile. The potion Madame Pomfrey just administered was supposed to bring your appearance back to normal."

"Oh..." Evan looked at his hand and saw that there was a clear substance with a green like tinge.

"Here." Snape passed him a cloth. "If Pomfrey finds out we let you mess with your salve she'll have all of our hides."

Evan wiped his fingers off on the towel and repeated his question. "What exactly happened?"

"I'm not sure… Lily and I were retrieving our phials for our potion, next thing we know Slughorn is telling people to get away from your cauldron, you yelled something indiscernible at Lupin before the whole contents of the cauldron exploded on you." Snape recited.

Lily nodded as if in agreement to Snape's version of events. "Slughorn said it was really lucky you had a containment charm on your cauldron, otherwise it may have hit more than just you and Remus."

"Lupin was injured?" Evan asked, the whole encounter slowly coming back to him.

"That's the strange thing- Lupin walked away completely unscathed." Snape said in a thoughtful tone.

"Well he wasn't hurt, but he was really shaken." Lily clarified.

"Oh… How long was I out for?"

"Only a couple of hours…" Snape said with that face that made Evan feel like he was a puzzle.

Madame Pomfrey bustled back in to shoo the two of them out and promised that Evan would be at breakfast the following morning. What surprised Evan was that after that she came back to sit in the chair that Lily had vacated.

"Mr. Michaels I tried to contact your Uncle, unfortunately I was unable to. Do you have an address for him, so I can write him so he is aware of what happened?"

"Oh, I think it may be on file somewhere- I just moved into his house. I don't remember the address…" Feeling silly for not knowing something so trivial, Evan felt a blush heat his face as he fiddled with the bed sheets.

"That is quite alright, dear. I really do need you to rest, unfortunately the potion I gave you…"

"Has a mild stimulant in it I know."

At this Pomfrey's eyebrows shot up. "That is a very astute observation Mr. Michaels"

"Oh," Evan blushed again. The potion he took probably hindered his ability to think before he spoke. "I erm, study medicinal magic in my spare time."

"You study medicinal magic in your spare time." Madame Pomfrey repeated back in a flat voice.

"Uh, yeah."

"Were you…" Pomfrey shook her head. "That is a conversation for a different time." Before Evan could ask what Pomfrey was talking about she spoke again. "I was going to ask if you would like a book to read while you wait for the stimulating affects to wear down a bit…"

"Do you have any books about how potions work to battle illnesses in the body?" Evan heard himself ask, before realizing that he was probably giving out way too much information about himself and cursed the side-effects of the potion Pomfrey had given him. "I mean err, I heard that is a good place to start, you know? Knowing exactly what potions do to the body to heal it…" Evan trailed off.

"There are some schools of thought who believe that is true." Pomfrey said slowly. She took out her wand and summoned a book which sailed into her hand.

I believe this book will be helpful to you, Mr. Michaels." She passed Evan a crème colored book, with the title _A Healer's Journey_ written in aquamarine ink.

"Oh, erm."

"Do you have a problem with this book?" Pomfrey inquired.

"No, it's just- well I've already read it." Evan swore to never take this potion again, had he been in his right mind he would have just taken the blasted book and read it again, for appearances sake.

Pomfrey did seem surprised by this and a thoughtful look passed over her features. "Mr. Evans, would you mind answering some questions for me about your knowledge of medicinal magic?"

"Err, no problem."

Madame Pomfrey got up from his bedside and came back five minutes later with a parchment and a quill.

"All right Mr. Michaels, let's see what you've got.'

* * *

Evan was not entirely sure how it happened, but by the time he left the hospital wing that evening, he had agreed to Saturday morning healing lessons with Madame Pomfrey.

He let his thoughts wander as he headed down to the great hall for dinner. He had wanted to read a book on healing and somehow had ended up taking an aptitude test on his basic understanding of healing.

Pomfrey had muttered about Hogwarts' lack of healing classes and about how she knew a lot of it depended on NEWT scores for getting into healing programs, but still how were student to know if they didn't take some kind of basic first-aid course, well more than just learning about certain healing potions in class and how to transfigure a stretcher.

Evan took his seat next to Snape at the Slytherin table and started helping himself to dinner. "What did I miss in ancient runes?" Evan asked as he sipped at his pumpkin juice.

"Not too much that I shouldn't be able to catch you up to speed within half an hour." Snape answered.

"You also found out a new way to construct that spell we've been working on." J.D. commented with his mouth full of potatoes. Really, the boy had no tact.

Evan sensed more than felt Snape tense next to him. After all the time they spent together, Snape never really told him much about what they were working on in that club and Evan never asked.

Not wanting the other boys to know how in the dark he was about their dealings he made a vague reply. "I'm sure that will speed along your process."

Not wanting to make eye contact with Snape, Evan reached for more carrots.

"We are hoping it will." Snape said in a slow confused voice. Evan glanced a chance at Snape now and saw that the other boys gaze had roamed to the Gryffindor table- where there were four students missing.

"I wonder where Lupin is…" Snape said in a small thoughtful voice.

"From what Lily said, I gather he is probably still recovering from the shock of being nearly drenched in a potion."

Snape looked at him for a moment as if startled, than back to the Gryffindor table. "Maybe, but you are here gracing us with your presence at dinner now." He pointed out.

Evan swallowed some of his roast. "Yes, but I got to recover in the comfort of the hospital wing."

Snape made a non-committal noise and glanced back at the table. Evan had a guess as to what Snape was thinking of as his gaze wandered to the ceiling, the full moon displayed in all its glory, and Evan wished he really didn't know what ideas were forming in Snape's head.

* * *

"I'm so excited!" Lily bounced up and down then gave Snape a nudge.

Evan rolled his eyes at the two. They were standing in line to borrow school brooms again. Well, Lily and Snape were, Evan had his broom safe within its brown paper folding. Apparently the two had some sort of tradition where they flew over to the clearing Snape had taken him to back in October after the first snow fall.

It was lucky that it had decided to snow on the first Saturday of December, seeing as how next Saturday was a Hogsmeade weekend and the week after next most of the students would be going home to their families.

Evan hung back while his two companions checked out their brooms.

"I haven't been on a broom in ages!" Lily announced as she threw the broom over her shoulder as the three began walking in the distance of the clearing.

"I didn't know you liked flying." The words were out of Evan's mouth before he thought them.

Lily gave him a guarded look. She'd been doing that lately, ever since she had learned of his supposed reasons for living with his Uncle. Evan gave a mental sigh, she really didn't have to be so careful around him.

"I don't like playing quidditch, but I do enjoy the feeling of flying." She shrugged her shoulders.

They were nearly to the point where Snape and Harry had mounted their brooms on the last excursion when a familiar voice called out.

"Where are you going with such bad company, Evans?"

Evan knew that voice. The three of them turned and saw Sirius standing a bit in front of the rest of the marauders, who all had their brooms as well.

"None of your business, Black." Lily snapped back at Sirius.

"Evans if you want to actually see how flying is done you should come with us. We're about to do some practice drills." James threw a quaffle in the air and caught it, all the while smiling at Lily.

"Like she needs to follow them to see some quality flying." Snape muttered with a snort, giving Evan a knowing look.

Ignoring James, Lily turned to Evan and Snape. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Evan replied, possibly a bit too quickly, judging from the speculative look on Lily's face.

Peter gave a disgusting hoot of laughter. "What?! Think your little friends are really better fliers than James is?"

Nott had not been lying at the Halloween party when he had told Evan about how amazing the Gryffindor team was. Regulus Black had indeed been the one to catch the snitch first but James had made so many goals by that time, it was more to save the Slytherins from such an embarrassing defeat.

"It doesn't matter what we think, when we know fact." Snape let out an arrogant snort.

"Severus what are you talking about!" Evan hissed before the Marauders could say anything else.

"Evan, please you could out-fly any of them, any time you wanted." Snape's voice was a bit louder than Evan would have liked.

"You really think Michaels could beat me at any part in quidditch?" James' arrogant smirk was rather off putting.

Ever the voice of reason Lily spoke up. "This is stupid. Come on guys, let's just go." Lily turned around and Evan followed.

Snape however had not by the time Sirius made a cat-call.

"Look at them, running with their tail between their legs. Slimy Slytherins."

While Evan truly wanted to point out that Lily, who in fact was a Gryffindor, was just being a responsible party and decided to walk away, not run away.

"Last time I checked snakes didn't have legs to hide their tails. Lions did." Evan surprised himself even with how cold his voice sounded. Not to mention the fact that he had said that at all. Why was it so easy to give in to childish taunts and so hard to be the mature adult and just walk away?

"Is that a challenge, Michaels?"

Evan took a deep breath, no he really ought to walk away, he didn't have time for childish games.

"No, it's not. It means we-"

"We know there is no challenge, so why bother? Evan could fly circles around you lot." Snape broke into the conversation.

"Severus!" Evan snapped.

"It doesn't matter James. Looks like Michaels is too much of a coward to take you on." Sirius sneered.

"Don't call me a coward." There were many things he could be called, coward apparently crossed the line.

"Prove it." James smirked.

"Fine, name your terms." Evan had a feeling he was going to regret this.

"There is a clearing a bit further on-" Evan figured the marauders knew of the clearing because of their late night escapades in the forest "-meet us there."

With that the four marauders mounted their brooms and flew off to the clearing.

"Don't be nervous, Evan." Lily's hand came upon his shoulder to sooth him. Evan didn't understand why she did it until he realized he was shaking.

"I'm not nervous- I'm furious."

"About them calling you coward?" Snape seemed confused that something like that could upset him so much.

Putting the anger behind his shields, Evan calmed down. "I'll tell you later, right now I have to follow through on my word."

Lily's arm dropped as he unwrapped his broom from its brown paper and mounted it. Not bothering to see if Lily and Snape were following him, he headed to the clearing.

"How are we to judge flying skills- there aren't hoops." Evan pointed out to James once he landed. With Lily and Snape landing just moments after him.

"Nah, chaser is not the best position for that- seeker is." As Sirius said it, Evan could feel Snape's knowing smirk.

"If you feel that best." Evan conceded, he really didn't think it was an appropriate time to mention that he was the youngest seeker in a century. "What shall we use for a snitch?"

"Lucky for you, I have a practice snitch on me." James pulled out said item from his pocket with an arrogant smile. "Best two out of three?"

"You're on."

"Evans, would you be so kind as to be the one to release the snitch and reset the charms. You are ever so good with them." James said as he strode over to Lily and bowed holding the snitch up to her.

Lily looked disgusted and opened her mouth to say something that was very possibly going to be rude, but Evan beat her to it.

"Please Lily, you are the most unbiased person here."

Giving James a glare, she looked back to Evan and gave a stiff nod. "All right. Shall I release it and you guys go for it in 2 minutes?"

"Sounds good." James mounted his broom and gave Evan an arrogant smirk.

Evan did not smile back, he simply mounted his broom as well and gave himself the two minutes to calm down. Behind his shields his emotions were whirling and fighting, he wanted to do so well at this, to impress the people who would become his parents, but he also knew the reality was that really ought not to happen.

_Don't attract attention to yourself._ His Uncle had reminded him numerous times. Gaining any kind of attention right now was bad. He really didn't want Voldemort to seek him out, for any reason.

Soon those two minutes were up and he and James were flying about fifty feet in the air, looking for the small golden ball. If Evan really wanted to, he could seek out the charm that was used on practice snitches and find it that way, but that felt too much like cheating.

Evan glanced over at James who was at the moment chancing a glance at Lily.

Evan gave a roll of his eyes, really his future father was rather obvious.

As Evan's gaze swept over the other Marauders he saw a little flash of gold by Pettigrew's head. Deciding that it would probably be okay to win at least one round, if it meant scaring the crap out of Pettigrew, Evan turned his broom towards the rat.

Not wanting to leave much time for everyone to gather their wits about them, Evan went straight into a nose dive, at a most likely unsafe speed toward the blonde boy.

Evan heard someone in an alarmed voice inquire as to what he was doing, but he held true to his form and could not help the small smirk on his face as he hurdled toward a frightened looking Pettigrew.

Evan made sure his broom came to a dead stop when he was about a foot away from Pettigrew. The boy was frozen in fear and Evan knew it was passive aggressive and vindictive, but he really may have had parents if…

He calmly reached out with his hand and grabbed the snitch from where it was hiding behind Pettigrew's ear.

"Looks like I've got the first one." Evan held back the urge to dance and taunt 'I won!' as he calmly sailed past Remus, Sirius and Peter to hand the snitch back to Lily. James was still where he had been when Evan had first seen the snitch.

All of the Gryffindor's mouths were open.

While he seemed a bit tense, Snape was smirking.

Sirius started to sputter. "You didn't say you had previous training!"

Evan shrugged. "You didn't ask."

"If Potter hadn't been ogling Lily he might have had a chance." Evan heard Snape's voice sneer as he passed Lily the snitch.

Evan gave Lily a sympathized look, really the two were both obvious, fighting for her attention like that. Lily seemed to still not have shaken off the shock of seeing the dive and was looking at Evan in bafflement.

James flew down in a determined sort of way. "Right. You had the element of surprise on that one, but don't expect it to work again."

"I don't expect it to." Evan didn't plan on catching the snitch again.

Lily seemed to break out of whatever trance she had been in and reset the charm on the snitch.

Evan and James resumed their positions on the opposite sides of the clearing. James was staring at him in what Evan assumed he thought was an intimidating sort of way.

The two minutes passed and the two soared back into the air.

To make it look as if he was going to be at least attempting to find the snitch this time, Evan started to make circles around the clearing. Evan noticed that James was a bit further up than he was in the air, doing the same thing.

A flash of gold caught his eye once again. This time the snitch was much closer to James. Evan was on the opposite side and not high enough in the air to be where he needed to be to get to the snitch. Had he had his Firebolt, there was no question in his mind that we would be able to reach the snitch in time. Seeing as how he really did not want to catch the snitch, he was far away to at least pretend that he thought he could get there first.

Pulling his broom up, he saw that James had noticed the snitch as well. Urging his broom to not go at its complete speed, he made his face look determined as he flew towards the snitch and James.

James got there a full twenty feet before he had and Evan allowed a scowl pass onto his features.

Apparently driven by his determination to prove something, James flew down to the ground and passed the snitch back to Lily to reset the charms with no further delay.

Once Evan had reached the ground, Lily reset the charms. The two minutes this time seemed to drag on a bit, what with James staring Evan down with an arrogant smile on his face.

Once the two were in the air, Evan repeated the same task of circling the pitch, as did James. On his fourth circle of the clearing, Evan spotted the snitch near the same stump he and Snape had sat upon on his last visit to the area.

So as to make sure it wouldn't seem he was forfeiting the match, Evan started to dive down toward the snitch, James it appeared was right on his tail. The two of them were coming up on the snitch with great speed, but not as fast as Evan had dove for the quaffle recently, which told him something about how fast he had been going.

James was gaining on him, he could feel the teenagers presence as he made his way closer to the snitch. They were getting closer in the dive, they were probably ten feet away or so. Evan reached out with his hand and glancing to his left he saw James do the same.

Neck and neck they were getting closer and closer to the golden prize. When he was sure James and everyone else was too focused on the ball, Evan slowed his broom down marginally and watched as James closed the last bit of space between him and the snitch.

Evan pulled up on his broom, so as not to crash into the ground and watched as Sirius, Lupin and Wormtail made their way over to James to congratulate him. Evan could hear Sirius' loud voice say something about how he knew James would always win, and Pettigrew simpered about how no one was a better flier than James.

Evan made his way over to Lily and Snape; Lily looked quite shaken about the dive the two of them had just been attempting and Snape was pursing his lips a bit, a face he had seen many times on the man in the future.

With a glance over at the marauders, Snape looked back at him and eyed him evenly. "You let him win."

"What, but why?" Lily looked back over at the spectacle behind them.

"Sometimes, it is best to not let your true talents be known." Evan said neither confirming nor denying Snape's statement.

Snape tilted his head in thought for a moment. "Touché."

* * *

"Are you going to explain why you were physically shaking in frustration earlier today?" Snape asked Evan moments after Lily went to find a book later that day as the three of them were revising homework in the library.

Evan let out a sigh. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you. I warn you, you may not like the answer." He put down his quill and rubbed at his face.

"Why won't I like it? I was worried you may have contracted some kind of strange illness or something." Snape's confused voice proved to Evan that he really had no idea what he had done, or he was just forgetting.

"You _know_ I don't like flying in front of people and still you taunted them!" Evan let out a bit harsher than he had meant to. It probably would have been better if he had saved this conversation for after he had had a run or meditated a bit so he could control his emotions better.

"Oh." Snape looked down at his parchment, his face coloring slightly.

"I told you I couldn't-"

"Sorry!" Snape interrupted in a voice a bit loud for the library.

"What?" Evan let out weakly. Never in his life had he ever heard Severus Snape apologize. For anything.

"I said I'm sorry. It's just that- well I think you fly better than Potter does, and well, he and his friends are always so arrogant-"

"Remus isn't that bad." Evan pointed out.

"He doesn't do anything to stop it. Sometimes that is worse. That's not the point though." Meeting his gaze again, Evan saw those black eyes filled with worry and remorse. "The point is I betrayed your trust and for that I am truly sorry." He hung his head again, his black hair hiding his face from view.

"I-uhh," Evan was still mad at Snape for goading the other boys, but the sight of him truly apologetic tore at his conscience. "I forgive you- just don't do something like that again without consulting me first, please."

"Really?" Snape's head snapped back up, honest surprise written all over his face.

"Yes, really." Evan had to hold back a small laugh at Snape's shock, it wouldn't be too polite.

Severus' face broke out into a smile.

Wanting to change the subject back to normalcy, Evan coughed before asking his question, as if the cough was the social indicator for 'alls good, we can move on now'.

"So where is-

"Lily?!" Snape's smile fell and worry crossed back into his features as he looked past Evan.

Evan turned in his chair and understood Snape's worry. The girl did not look well at all. Her face was stark white, her dark red hair making it seem an unhealthy pale. Her green eyes were glassy and she looked nauseous.

Severus was out of his chair in an instant and at her side.

"Lils- what happened?! Are you okay?" Snape said guiding the girl slowly to her seat

"Yeah," her voice sounded strangely distant. "Yeah- I'm fine."

"You look sick, Lily." Evan reached out to her to offer some comfort, like she had done so often for him. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital wing?" his handed landed on top of hers.

She looked over at him and shook her head slowly. "No. No I think I'm going back to the tower."

As if holding back great unease, she packed her bag slowly. As she did, Evan did a scan on her person to see if a spell was the cause for the behavior and when it came back negative for spell involvement, it relieved and worried him.

"Lily, you may want to have Pomfrey give you a once over just-" Snape started.

"I said I'm fine." She snapped as she shoved her chair in. Her eyes must have met up with Snape. "Shit, Sev. I'm sorry. I really am not feeling too well, I think… I just need to go lie down." With that she all but fled from the library.

"Think we should go after her?" Evan asked Snape after a second.

"No, she rarely loses control of her emotions like that." Snape shook his head. "If she still seems off tomorrow at breakfast we shall speak with her about going to Pomfrey."

Evan agreed and went back to his revising. By the end of the night he had a sneaking feeling he wasn't the only one who wasn't able to focus on his assignments.

* * *

"Are you going to meet up with us at Three Broomsticks this Saturday?" Evan asked Lily as he un-packed his notes on Wednesday evening.

"No, I don't think I will be able to do so." Lily prodded the stone with her shoe.

Concern for her well being flooded Evan. "Are you still not feeling well?"

"Ugh not this again." Lily rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, promise."

"Oh, you swear you would go to Pomfrey if you weren't right? Cause Severus would have a fit if you didn't." Evan felt throwing a joke at the end there may relieve the tension a bit.

"Actually," Lily squared her shoulders, "Damocles Belby asked me to go with him."

"Belby," Evan recognized the name from the Slug Club, "Isn't he a 7th year Ravenclaw?"

"We've gotten along well enough in the past and he is certainly good looking." Lily stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Err- okay." Not really wishing to hear about Lily's dating life, he knew that she had probably dated before James, but still it was weird. Evan changed the subject back to the charm. "So do you want to cast first?"

Lily didn't mention the abrupt change in conversation and simply nodded before holding her hand out in front of her.

"_Inobservatus!"_ Her wand work was now precise and now she was just working on holding the charm in place.

Evan watched as the mist seemed to settle over her arm like a second skin before her whole arm disappeared.

"Well done Lily, that's brilliant!" Evan said as he turned over one of the sand timers they used to count how much time had passed.

"Thanks." Her smile was hesitant, most likely from holding the charm.

Taking no further words from her as a sign for it to be his turn, Evan poised his wand over his hand and performed the spell.

He watched as the mist, nearly invisible in the air save for the small bits of light it caught, hugged his arm.

Lily let out an excited gasp. "It says that once you have mastered the spell, it should look like that."

Focusing on the mist he barely saw, he encouraged it to cover his whole body. There was a strange sensation, over his skin, as if he had been dipped in some kind of thick coating substance that reminded Evan of hair gel.

"You did it." Lily sounded a little breathless as she looked at him, her green eyes wide.

Evan held out his hands in front of him and saw nothing.

"It's not even like some of the other charms I've read about that make you like a chameleon to your surroundings. There's no lines or anything!" Lily walked in a circle around the area he had been standing in.

An idea to see how well the charm was working, inspired Evan to cast a wand-less non-verbal muffling spell on his shoes and as Lily passes by where he was he crept to the other side of the room. Evan stifled a noise of excitement as Lily still paced around the area she thought he was in, critiquing all the while.

Sitting up on one of the desks Evan cancelled the charm on himself.

"Lily, your arm has faded."

Lily turned around so she was facing him. "How did-?"

Evan let out a laugh of nervous excitement. "I guess this means that I have indeed, mastered the spell."

"Alright you- give me some more pointers than!" Lily smiled and held her wand out to cast again.

Evan said his goodbyes to Lily later that night and as he turned down the corridor he heard someone calling his name.

"Oy, Michaels!"

Evan turned and saw James striding towards him at a brisk pace.

"Potter," Evan replied evenly.

"I need to talk to you."

"What about?"

"Look- the quidditch-"

"Potter-" Evan interrupted. "You really wish to have a conversation in a corridor where anyone can hear?"

James thought on this for a moment and looked around. "I suppose not, this way." James led him into an un-used classroom.

Once the door was closed Evan debated throwing up a ward, but decided against it.

"What about the quidditch match?" Evan asked straightaway, wanting to get straight to the subject.

James eyed him critically for a moment. "You let me win."

Evan started. He had not been expecting that. Apparently that wasn't all James had to say.

"There is something strange about you Michaels- I know I should be wary of you and suspect you're up to some sort of indecent acts, but every time I do, I reason it out or something. Why is that- did you put some kind of spell on me?"

"Not my fault if I have a trusting face." Evan said with a weak smile, hoping to feign innocence; which really wasn't so hard, seeing as how he had no idea why James would be feeling that way.

"You're quiet, you always seem so reserved and now you let me win at quidditch!" James was now pacing in the room, repeating himself in no manner that made sense to Evan. "And you hang around Snivellus- which no one gets-"

"Don't call him that." Evan interrupted.

"What you standing up for you fellow dark-"

"Don't you dare call me a dark wizard James Potter."

"What?! Are you saying that you really don't have some kind of hidden agenda here? You just hangin' around sticking up with one of the kids who knows the most about the dark arts-"

"Lily hangs around him too!"

"Not nearly as much as you do!"

"We're in the same house! He's a nice bloke, maybe if you all weren't such dicks to him, you'd see that!" Evan threw up his arms in frustration.

"He's just as much of a greasy git back to us! Wait see, why am I doing this? Why am I defending my actions- I don't get it." James stopped pacing and walked towards him. "Prove it."

"Prove what?"

"Prove you're not a dark wizard." James said in a deadly serious voice.

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"Let me feel your magic."

"Whatt—" Evan faltered. Showing another wizard your magic was usually done in peace negotiations, alliances among families, or marriages. It was usually done so you could see the compatibility of the two magic's and make sure the alliance would hold a strong magic backbone. While this was the traditional case, Evan was pretty sure Voldemort had done something like this with his followers to see how magically competent they were.

"Let me feel your magic," James repeated in what appeared to be a reasonable tone, as if he was stating a simple equation. "If you touch my hand and imagine showing someone-"

"I know how the process works, Potter. I just don't see how you feeling my magic will prove anything." Evan looked around the room wondering if he should try stunning James, or just do what the other boy was asking so he could get him off his back.

"Well if you know how it works and you have nothing to hide, you should have no problem doing it. Shouldn't you?" James asked with a tilt to his head and cocky grin that displayed how much he thought he had won.

Evan thought about it for a moment. "If I do this," he began slowly "I will have to modify your memory."

"If you think it's-" James began to interrupt.

"It has nothing to do with how light or dark my magic is. It has to do with the fact that I'm not supposed to let anyone feel my magic. My Uncle would be pissed if he found out I was doing something like this."

James looked at him the way Severus did when he was judging ingredients for a potion. "What kind of memory charm?"

"It would allow you to know about my magic, but you would be unable to speak about it to anyone."

James thought it over for another moment. "Fine." He held out his wand hand to Evan.

_I really hope I don't regret this. _Evan thought as he brought up his own hand and brought down most of his occlumency shields, keeping back the parts of his magic that had been cast with hate and a desire to cause his opponents pain.

Taking in a deep breath he let his magic collect around his hand and swept it over James' hand. As his hand was sweeping over James' palm he looked up into James' face and saw that the other boy's brown eyes were wide behind his glasses. At the last sweep over his palm James' eyes began to narrow as if concentration. Sensing something was going wrong, Evan pulled his magic in back behind his shields and his hand away from James.

James took his other hand and massaged his wand hand, while he looked at Evan with suspicion.

"What?"

"You hide how powerful you are. Even though it's incredibly light magic- you still hide it." James continued to massage his hand as if the act alone would answer his question.

"That's my business." Evan stated in a voice that he hoped would leave no room for argument.

James looked as if he were about to argue on the point when his eyes widened considerably, if that was possible, and his whole body froze.

"What?" This wasn't supposed to happen when a wizard felt another's magic.

"You have Potter magic." James' voice was distant and troubled.

"What are you on about Potter?" Evan prayed his voice didn't tremble as he spoke. _Fuck fuck fuck._

"You do- you're a direct descendent of the Potter line, which doesn't make sense, because-"

Shit, this was bad. Deciding that James really couldn't be allowed to think anymore, Evan whipped out his wand and did a spell he had only seen done once.

"_Ad delens in speciali sed non affectus_!" Evan cried as his wand moved almost of its own accord around James in the same motions his Uncle had when he had cast the spell upon Dumbledore.

The spell hit James before he had any chance to react. His gaze went glassy for a moment than he shook his head.

"What did you do?"

"I modified you memory- I told you I would. Now that you got what you wanted, please leave me alone." Evan did a quick sweep of James' person to make sure that his spell had stuck before he left the room. Leaving behind a confused but trusting James alone in the classroom.

Evan was still cursing busybodies, stupid Uncles and fate when he nearly ran into Dumbledore somewhere on the way back to the common room.

"Ah Mr. Michaels, just the young lad I was looking for." Dumbledore eyed him over the top of his half-moon spectacles and those blue eyes were lacking their usual sparkle.

"Headmaster?" Evan did not add on that he wondered why Dumbledore would be looking for him.

"If you would be so kind to follow me down to my office for a quick chat?" Dumbledore asked politely but Evan knew there was only one answer to this proposal.

"Yes, sir?"

"Splendid!" Dumbledore made a motion for him to follow and as the two walked to the gargoyle, Dumbledore made inane chit-chat about the weather and what he suspected to be a doxy-infection in the north-east wing of the castle.

By the time they had taken their seats in the familiar office, Evan knew way more about doxy-infections than he ever wanted to know.

"Sir, may I ask what this is about?"

Dumbledore eyed him for a moment before speaking. "How much do you know about sentient magic, Mr. Michaels?"

"I have not studied the subject extensively. I know that some buildings, but usually homes have a feeling to them, usually tied to the owner."

Dumbledore eyed him for a moment. "Did you know that often when one is tied to the wards, one can be alerted when there is magic cast that they would not approve of."

"Er- no sir I did not know that." Evan did not like where this was going.

"Tell me, Mr. Michaels, exactly why you would be performing a very extensive and powerful memory charm." The twinkle was not completely gone from Dumbledore's eyes as he said this. Evan figured this meant that Dumbledore may not be completely angry with him, if he had a reasonable explanation. Luckily, he did.

"Sir, I performed a memory charm on James Potter. It was crucial that I did so, he was very close to finding out a key detail of my identity."

"You believe he would have found out…"

Evan saw what Dumbledore was doing here, sneaky old coot. "Yes, sir. He more than likely would have discovered who I was and that would be endangering to- many people." Evan felt it was safer to say that, rather than him, his friends and oh, Lily Evans too.

"Alright, Mr. Michaels. I understand this, but please endeavor to not place memory charms on students, please be proactive about making sure it does not come down to you having to modify their memories."

"Yes sir." Evan sighed with relief, after all he had messed up a bit.

Dumbledore made the signal for him to go and as he reached the door Evan heard Dumbledore's voice again.

"Oh and Mr. Michaels?'

Evan turned and saw Dumbledore marking something on a parchment.

"I truly hope that invisibility spell you have learned, will not result in too much mischief." He gave Evan a small glance at the end, and this time the blue eyes were twinkling.

"No sir, no mischief, just research." Evan smiled back and turned to go back to his common room, it had been a long day.

_TBC…_

Please read and review, it will make me happy and may make updates come sooner. I will try to get the next chapter out ASAP. So hopefully in two weeks! I have no idea though, new semesters and whatnot.

Thanks for reading!

-BongoMonkeys


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Right. So, I apologize in the delay in this update. I really have not had a chance to write, what with classes on my weekdays and work on the weekends. But! I had a whole day to myself and had completed enough course work yesterday, which allowed me to bust out this chapter. Which fun fact! Is the longest chapter to date!

I would like to say, I am ecstatic about how many people are following the story! Thank you so much, I get a little happy when I get those shiny e-mail that tell me that someone new is following/ or has favorite. So much thanks to you!

Of course, I am also incredibly thankful to those of you who have taken the time to review. A whopping 23 of you! (Which is only 2%, but sincerely that's ok! I just happy to receive some reviews!) My sad life consists of TV, homework, class and work, and your lovely opinions are truly the highlights of my day.

So many internet hugs and cakes go out to: **TwoSoulsEntwined,ckirkes2427** (Severus finding out about Remus is probably going to be coming up in the next couple of chapters, and 'Evan' will see his Uncle at least one more time, probably not until spring though), **Northman-Snape**(Yay!), **Fire-Metal-Horse17, Hierran, NightStalkersRevenge, GrandTheftPanic** ( I, uhh, may have procrastinated University a bit with this, but I am doing my work later today! And it always gets turned in on time! I swear! ), **Mia Tun**(Thank you! It was very difficult to write quidditch and I am so not looking forward to doing it again. I know this update is not as speedy, but I hope the length makes up for it!) **TearfullPixie, KyuubiChild717** (You had some great observations and while some were correct, I am not sure they all were! I will try to answer some though, without giving away the plot. Potter magic is sort of like a part of DNA, like eye or hair color, etc. There will be more explanations on my view of magic as the story goes on. As far as reading other peoples feelings, 'Evan' is oblivious. Honestly, just re-reading parts of HBP Harry has no idea how to work with his emotions and from a Child Development major- that kid would be so messed up by his childhood-just saying. Most of the time when 'Evan' is talking to Remus,. It is near the full moon where Remus isn't as in charge of his behavior as much as he would like to be. Haha, I do not imagine 'Evan' claiming any Slytherin estates, he has already been told not to change anything and I believe he is going to keep his word on that. I hope some of those answers helped!)

**Madrea Salazar Riddle, KitElizaKing**(Thank you so much! I am truly trying to avoid most of the clichés that are found in these types of stories, and am glad to hear it is working!) **Myr, GoddessonmyKnees**(I don't think I would have been able to either, in the moment. I can get a bit competitive), **EverydayMagic17, Basil to Blithe, 13AkiraKuranXIII, Debymagid, ieatmyfeelings**(He is doing not as great about that is he? Well he is starting to work harder now in this chapter! I also think there are some good Severus/Harry moments in this chapter, but then again I am biased), **Nightshade's, sydneylover150**(You ask some great questions! I assume you meant in the library? Well if you did, don't you ever just have bad days? Okay, there may be more to it but I not ready to tell :P. Harry let James feel his magic because he thought it was the best decision he had at the time. Harry thinks that James as a stubborn streak as wide as his, so if he just kept ignoring him, James would just keep showing up), **Cazzylove , BloodyRose90**( That is quite allright! I am glad to see you are still reading and enjoying the story though!) and **Azrael Jinsei.**

And so much thanks to **Ginji, **for acting as beta! (If anyone is interested in betaing please feel free to message me! I can always use an extra set of eyes!)

Anywho, there has been far too much of my ranting and thanking! I implore you to let me know you thoughts on this chapter, and as always feel free to ask questions!

-BongoMonkeys

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter 11**

The wind was bitterly cold as it blew the snow; small pieces of frozen water which could make nearly anything look magical when covered with its soft white substance, was currently working on ruining its reputation by striking upon their faces with vengeance as they trudged their way to Grove's that Saturday.

Evan was almost thankful for the cold wind blowing in their faces, as it ruined any chance of conversation, giving him time to think about his current dilemma. Buying Christmas presents.

He had finally gotten to opening the small sack of 'spare change' from his Uncle last night and learned that the money was supposed to be his source of income over the next couple of years, including the first year of University, seeing as how Hogwarts was paid through until his graduation. Well, that had made much more sense as to why there was so much of it.

Michael had also done a tally of how much money was in the bag along with a sheet so Evan could keep track of how much he had spent. The total was still a reasonably high number and Evan was pretty sure that if he budgeted as if this was the last money he would ever receive; it would serve him well for at least twice the amount of time it was intended for. He understood the gentle hinting from his Uncle, that even though Michael was to be gone come spring, Evan would still need to dress and appear as he had been taught over the summer.

Which brought Evan back to his current dilemma. Christmas presents. He had always been pants at picking them out and he really wasn't buying them for many people- just Lily and Snape really. Maybe Remus as well- the two had been getting along rather well and seemed friendly enough with each other, they had even had a couple of conversations outside of the classroom. He would probably get some kind of generic Honeyduke's gift for the rest of the boys in his room, as it was only polite, by pureblood standards that is.

It was going to be strange not getting anything for Ron or Hermione this year. It helped a bit that that they weren't here, it made it seem almost silly to be thinking of getting them something which made Evan a bit sad, so he tried not to think about. What actually was unsettling was not picking up anything for Hagrid. The friendly giant was actually quite sparse in his job as gamekeeper and Evan only saw him every so often, but he really had no desire to seek out his first connection with the wizarding world. Hagrid was possibly the only person, besides Dumbledore, that he actually knew in the future and he had to be extra careful not to slip up in front of them.

Evan chanced a glance over at Snape who was dressed in a cloak that seemed just a hair too thin and a thick cap that nearly covered his eyes. Snape was looking down at the ground, his face blocked by the cap letting only small wisps of black hair out that were being thrashed about by the harsh wind as they continued on to their destination. Snape's gaze was at his feet so he could keep a clear eye on their path.

Perhaps Evan could get him a cloak? No, Evan shook his head and stared back down at the ground, cloaks were too expensive and wouldn't that say too much? Evan felt that it also might embarrass Snape. He remembered when his clothes had not fit properly and when people mentioned it he had been stubborn about buying new ones, even though the rational part of his brain knew it was smart to get new ones, but the idea of taking away one of the things he was used to, not to mention it could imply that Evan thought Snape maybe couldn't afford clothes or… No a cloak would not do at all.

Evan let his thoughts go back to his gift-giving lessons from the pure-blood manner system he had learned over the summer.

Christmas gifts were supposed to represent a token of friendship or family, much how Mrs. Weasley gave all her children close to the same thing on Christmas. Birthday presents were supposed to be more specific to the individual, a representation of another year of their magical life and exploration, like his broom from Sirius or his watch from Mrs. Weasley.

Crap. Lily has also been keen to hint to him that Sev's birthday was on the ninth so he best pick something out for that too. He probably wouldn't have another chance to do any shopping before Severus' birthday, so it looked like now would be his only opportunity to really shop for something, unless he got it out of a catalogue.

The two came upon Grove's shop and dusted their cloaks of excess snow, before performing a small drying charm on the garments.

"Would you be interested in getting some tea first?" Severus asked, with his cheeks and tip of his nose tinged pink from the cold.

"That sounds good," Evan replied in earnest as the two made their way to find a table near the small counter that served as a check out and ordering area. Hot tea sounded good to his chilled form and this way he may be able to start asking Snape about what he may like for Christmas in a very subtle way.

The problem with Christmas gifts is that since they were a token of the friendship, or how well you knew the person, you were not really supposed to ask someone what they wanted if it was a close friendship, which made Evan wonder how close he was starting to feel to this young Snape. Birthday gifts however, could be alluded to, as wizards generally had an idea of where they wanted to go with their magical growth.

The pair found a small table nestled between two squashy armchairs in the corner opposite of the counter.

"Is earl grey alright with you?" Snape asked as he shed off his cloak, draping it over the chair.

"Sounds fine to me," Evan said as he too shucked off his cloak and set it on the back of his own armchair.

Snape made a sound of confirmation before walking over to the counter to order their tea from Mr. Groves. Evan let out a small sigh as he sat in the chair, watching Snape talk in an almost excited manner to Mr. Groves about some kind of book or another. Perhaps that is what Evan could get Snape for Christmas, a book or one of his Shakespeare plays…

"Hey Michaels, what are you doing here?" A female voice broke Evan out of his thoughts. Evan turned his head away from Snape and Groves, turning toward the direction from which the voice had come from.

"Oh hello, Antein." It was Lily's friend. "I'm here with Severus for some tea right now." Evan motioned his head toward Snape.

"Oh," Antein said with a crinkle of her nose and confusion in her brown eyes that were so much like Ginny's that Evan had to look away. While he still missed her from time to time, some of Lily's actions reminded him of Ginny and that was just…. Weird. He found that his feelings for his former girlfriend had been steadily growing to more of that of a sisters, much like what he had felt with Hermione.

Antein played with a small lock of her hair. "Well, I was wondering, since you know Mary isn't feeling well and Lily is out with Belby today if-"

"Evan I procured one of those raspberry chocolate scones you were inspecting last time- oh Hello, Antein." Evan turned his head as he heard Snape's voice approach, watching as his face went from open and friendly to a mild sneer.

Snape placed the tea and scones on the small table in-between the two arm chairs and walked behind the chairs so he was now leaning on the side of Evan's armchair in an indifferent manner.

"Snape," Antein said in what seemed like a forced cordial manner.

There seemed to be a strange staring contest between the two of them, so Evan, with a shrug of his shoulders, turned his back to them and grabbed his cup of early grey from the small wooden round table and took a small sip from the top of the steaming mug.

A bit too much milk for his taste, but the flavor of the tea was of a good quality.

"I guess I'll see you later, Snape. Michaels."

Evan looked up and gave the brown haired girl a small wave as she walked to the other side of the store.

Snape made some kind of 'hmph' noise as he turned and slumped into his chair with little grace or any indication that he would one day learn to be as graceful as Evan remembered him being as an adult.

"What's up with you?" Evan asked after a couple of moments had passed and Snape hadn't really said anything, but had just been staring off into space.

"Huh?" Snape whipped his head around and seemed embarrassed about something. "Oh, I was just speculating as to what it was Antein wanted." He picked up his own cup of tea and sipped at it, not meeting Evan's eye.

"I figured she was just lonely and looking for something to do, what with Lily on a date and MacDonald being sick and all." Evan gave a shrug and took another sip of his tea.

Snape gave him another one of incredulous looks that made him feel like he was an idiot and missing something obvious.

"What, do I have tea on my face or something?" Evan asked as he picked a napkin from the table to wipe at his face.

"No, just..." Snape shook his head and a small smile that seemed amused and sad at the same time. "Never mind. Now, are you interested in sharing this delectable piece of baked perfection with me?" Snape indicated to the scone on the plate that was still emitting smells, indicating it was still fresh and warm.

Evan's face broke into a small smile. "Sure."

Snape broke the scone into two and passed him half of it in a napkin.

"So," Evan said as he took the piece of offered scone, "Christmas is coming up, did you decide if you are going home or not yet?"

Severus chewed on a bit of scone for a moment, as if thinking of exactly how he should phrase his next thought. "My mother and I have decided that it may be... for the best if I stay here during the holiday." He paused for a moment, swallowing the rest of his bite. "She may venture up to the castle one evening, to take me to dinner in Hogsmeade though."

Evan felt this was a convenient opportunity to ask Snape about presents. "What do you think she will get you for Christmas?" he asked in what he hoped was a casual manner as he took sip of his tea.

"I am not entirely sure," Snape said, as he too sipped at his tea. "More often than not, she just arranges a day for the two of us and will purchase me something on the outing. She claims that this is because I am impossible to shop for."

Evan made a non-committal noise, but inside he was cursing Snape for being so picky, now he was more stumped than ever. If Snape's own mother couldn't figure out what to buy him, how was he supposed to buy him something!

Before Evan could ask his next question a figure dressed in full winter gear came up to them.

"Urgh! You would not believe how forward some boys are!" Lily exclaimed as she took off her hat, her red hair falling out of a messy ponytail, which she complained about, before she gave Snape's tea a glance and snatched it off the table and took a large gulp from it.

"Ahh, much better," she said with a small shudder as if the tea worked much like a warming charm over her no doubtedly cold form.

"Lily, how lovely to see you. Would you be interested in joining us for some tea?" Snape drawled as he rolled his eyes in mock-annoyance which was ruined by the amusement that played over his features at Lily's antics.

"Bad date?" Evan was surprised to hear himself ask.

Lily shuddered, this time at the memory. "You wouldn't believe."

"What happened?" Severus did not hide his brimming curiosity well at all.

"Well- so he met me in the front hall, right?" Lily began her story and Evan found, while he had asked how the date had gone, he really did not want to hear the sordid details of his mothers dating life.

"Here Lily, you take my seat," Evan said interrupting his future mother's tale as he got up and gestured to the arm chair he had been occupying.

Lily gave him a look that made Evan think she was going to ask if he was sure.

"No, really, I wanted to go look for a book real quick- I'll be right back." Evan reassured her. In reply he got a shrug from Lily and a nod from Snape. As he was walking, he tried not to pay attention to Lily animatedly describing her date and Snape's encouraging replies and questions for further details.

Evan began wandering the shelves in thought as to what get Severus for Christmas and found himself in the section where he had found Snape the first time they had been here.

He ran his hand along the shelves, taking in many familiar titles that he had read or at least heard of when he was in attendance in muggle school, along with some wizarding classics he had heard of. He paused in front of some leather bound books at a familiar title. He pulled the black leather bound book from the shelves.

_The Importance of Being Earnest_ he read aloud quietly. Where had he heard that name before? He vaguely remembered watching some kind of special on it from his cupboard on BBC while the rest of the Dursley's watched from the living room.

"He would rather like that," commented a friendly voice from behind Evan.

Evan was proud that he did not jump in shock, rather he turned calmly to catch the amused look on Mr. Groves face. Evan really needed to work on not getting caught up in things and keep an ear out for people approaching him.

"Who?" Evan asked.

"Severus. He would really enjoy that book. I've been telling him to bite the bullet and put Shakespeare down and start reading some Wilde. That play in particular is witty and I think Severus would appreciate Wilde's style and take on late 19th century muggle manners." Groves said casually as he leaned upon one of the bookcases.

"Oh," Evan managed to put eloquently. He looked in his hand at the work.

"He also appreciates the classic look to novels." Groves added as if it would make up Evan's mind about purchasing the book.

Evan looked up to see Lily passing by the isle of books he and Groves were in. Lily caught his glance and briefly turned her head the other way before heading down the aisle.

"Whatchya got there Evan?" Lily asked as she came closer to the two of them.

"_Importance of Being Earnest,_" Evan answered as he held the book up for Lily to see.

"Ohh, Sev would love that! Mum took Tuney and I to see a production of it last summer." Lily nodded enthusiastically.

"Wait- where is Severus?" Evan asked, realizing that he may have left the armchairs and could stumble upon the three of them discussing the book.

"Oh, he is watching the rest of your guys' stuff, most likely with his nose back in a book. He mentioned that Heather was here looking for me and I was trying to find her."

Evan gave a mental sigh of relief, he didn't know why he was so worried about the possibility of Severus finding them.

"You really think he would like it?" Evan asked Lily.

"Love it." Lily clarified with a nod and encouraging smile.

"You don't think it would imply that I think him boring, would it?" Evan asked hesitantly, he really didn't want to offend Snape by giving him a book. He remembered that while he appreciated books from Hermione, he often wondered how original her gifts were.

"Why would it imply that?" Lily asked, her nose scrunching in confusion.

"Wait-" Groves let out a bit loudly. "Sorry, but isn't this one of the pureblood things, that Christmas… is about growth and birthdays are about friendship." Groves started to say in a thoughtful tone but finished with hopeful rise to his voice at the end.

Evan shook his head. "Other way around."

"Damn." Groves muttered. Huh, Evan didn't know he wasn't a pure-blood. He handled most of his clientele in the traditional pureblood fashion. Then again, most of his robes were in classic muggle 1970's colors.

"Oh, I never really understood those traditions." Lily said as she looked at something on her shoe.

"Well, basically Christmas presents often reflect your friendship to another- or are a token of your affections, things like that," Evan shrugged off, as if he had known this kind of information his whole life.

"So, basically the book would reflect on your friendship with Sev?" Lily asked with a thoughtful glance towards the book.

Before Evan could answer, Groves interrupted. "Kind of. It would mostly say that he thinks Severus is witty and amusing, much like the book and the author. That he also enjoys this aspect of Severus' person. But it is also open to much interpretation."

"Wait-" Lily paused as if she was racking her brain for information. "the author too?" she gave Groves a look.

Lily and Groves seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes, which included several sneaking glances over to Evan and the book.

"Evan," Lily exclaimed after Groves gave her a smirk. "I think this book is the perfect choice!"

"Really?"

"Yes, now let Mr. Groves take it to be delivered on Christmas and you can go pick out a different book to read over the holiday and purchase them both when we leave." Lily took the book from Evan and started to nudge Evan along.

Evan felt pretty secure about the purchase, even if the amused glances that Groves and Lily kept sending each other did confuse him.

* * *

Evan was able to buy his gift for Lily in Gladrags Wizardwear while Snape distracted her. Evan was not sure if she would like it, it was some kind of hair clip adorned with a lily that was charmed to make sure that her hair would not fall out of it. From the stories he could remember of his mother, added on with the times Evan had seen the blossom stitched on random articles of his Lily's clothing, it seemed she was fond of the flower. Lily was the kind of person it seemed who embraced parts of herself that would tire or annoy others if they were continuously associated with a certain facet of their personality. Then again maybe she was like himself, much how he had loved his lightning bolt shaped scar because it had made him different, unique.

Evan let out a small sigh as he looked at the wooden table, waiting for Snape to come back with the drinks. It was crowded in the Three Broomsticks today, the three of them had managed to find a small round table with three chairs towards the back of the pub and Snape volunteered to order their drinks over at the bar, figuring they may get their beverages faster this way. Plus, it was probably easier for Rosmerta.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" Lily's soft voice broke Evan out of his contemplative brood.

"Huh?" Evan looked up into the speculative gaze of Lily was giving him.

"Just thinking about gift-giving and how…pressuring it can be," Evan said, not exactly meeting the green-eyed girl's watchful eyes.

"Stuck on what to get Sev for his birthday?"

"Yeah," well that was half of his problem, "I just am not sure. I mean I thought about purchasing him some new potion equipment, but-"

"I don't really see why that would be bad," Lily cut Evan off mid-sentence.

"But, it just seems like such an obvious thing to get him." It really did seem like a cliché item to get someone who would one day be a potions master, potions equipment.

Lily pursed her lips in thought for a moment. "Evan answer me this," She paused and waited until Evan met her gaze across the table. "Does Sev like potions?"

"Err- well yeah"

"Does he enjoy talking about the topic in his spare time?"

"Lily, I really don't see the point of this-" Evan really did not understand how this line of inquisition was going to help him.

"Just answer the question," Lily said with a knowing and patient smile.

"Well, you know that he does," Evan answered.

"Do you think he would enjoy that kind of gift?"

"Well- probably," Evan conceded, but that didn't mean…

"There you have your answer." Evan must not have looked as if he completely believed her, for she reached across the table and covered one of his hands with her own. "Don't worry so much about what other people might say or think. If you think Sev will like it, which he would, don't freak yourself out about how it could be judged by others," She gave his hand a gentle squeeze "just do what you feel is right." Lily gave him a re-assuring smile before pulling her hand away.

"Oh." Evan looked down at his hands. It was strange to receive such comforting advice from someone whom he had always wanted it from. Taking a breath and filing away the flood of happiness and familial feeling behind his shield to analyze later, Evan looked over to Lily.

"Thanks," he managed a small smile, while behind his shields he was glowing.

"Anytime," Lily said with a shake of her head, as if she was shaking off amusement about something. "I actually think it is rather sweet, that you are so worried about it."

"Sweet?!" Evan was concerned about how his gift would be received like with any friend, what made Lily think he was acting… sweet. The thought made him feel uncomfortable in a strange way he hadn't felt before.

"What is sweet?" Snape asked as he set the three butterbeers on the table and sat in the chair to Evan's left.

"The cauldron cakes that Slughorn is probably going to be serving next week at the Christmas part," Lily answered seamlessly, as if that was what the conversation had been about the whole time.

Snape made a face as he settled in his chair and they all grabbed their mug of butterbeer. "I swear every year the already inordinate sugar content of those pastries multiplies exponentially." Snape shuddered before taking a sip of his beverage.

"I thought you liked sweets," Evan said in what he hoped was a casual manner. This could be information used later on for gifts.

"I do enjoy sweets, but I usually go for dark chocolate paired with a fruit," Snape said as he brushed something off from the table.

They sat sipping at the warm drinks that were slowly melting their frozen insides.

* * *

The Monday morning that followed the Hogsmeade weekend was typical. Evan got up, and did his usual morning routine, save for this time he used the invisibility charm on himself to go to the room of requirement because it was getting just a bit too cold outside for running- even with warming charms.

He and Snape walked down to breakfast as usual and were sitting comparing notes for History of Magic so they wouldn't have to pay as much attention to the boring lecture they would no doubt have to endure from Professor Binns, when everything shifted with the arrival of _The Daily Prophet_.

Snape had been right when he mentioned to Evan that not a lot of children received the paper at Hogwarts, after all what adolescents regularly read the paper? Evan had noted however, that as more disappearances began to occur, more _Daily_ _Prophets _began to arrive in the morning.

It was the months of training to hide his emotions, as well as the most recent months where he had nearly employed his tactics 24 hours a day, that stopped Evan from dropping his paper in shock that morning.

_Strange Mark hovering above home of Albert Adald_.

The picture displayed a glowing skull with a snake coming out of its mouth hovering above a wizarding home, that Evan had seen many times before.

The article went on to discuss how Adald had been working in the muggle relations office and had recently completed a paper entitled 'Dances with Muggles'.

This was the turning point, he had heard adults speak of it in the background before. Things turned worse after he started using the mark that would throw fear into anyone who he thought stood in his path.

"Evan, what is on the front page that has you so entranced?" Snape's voice broke Evan away from his train of thought as the other boy came closer to peek at the front page.

Evan felt his pulse race, he knew Snape had not been a death eater at Hogwarts but surely he had been thinking about it.

"Hmm, I think my mum worked with him on a project at some point, he was a nice bloke. I wonder what happened," Snape mused before going back to his notes.

"You mean- you don't recognize the symbol?" Evan asked, knowing it was probably not the safest of questions.

"I think I may have seen it in a textbook somewhere, I cannot recall," Snape glanced over the mark again, shrugged and went back to his textbook.

Evan had learned to read Snape pretty well by now, and his teenage self was not very good at concealing emotions. Severus had no idea what this was. Evan could not explain why, but he was elated that Snape was nowhere near becoming a death eater at this point.

"Hey Michaels- mind if I see your paper?" Mulciber asked from the other side of the paper. Evan looked around the hall, it seemed there were small clusters forming around anyone who had a paper.

"Sure," Evan folded the paper and passed it on over, reaching behind Snape as he did so.

"Thanks," Mulciber took the paper and took it down to the seventh year end of the table, and well, that wasn't suspicious at all.

Snape looked up when Mulciber left and raised an eyebrow at Evan, clearly asking.

"Wanted to show someone down there my paper, I suppose."

The sound charm rang out, signaling for them to go on to their first classes of the morning.

"So which Goblin Rebellion do you think Binns will ask us about on the next exam?" Snape asked as he slung his bag over his shoulder, clearly not thinking anything strange of Mulciber's behavior.

"Probably the one from the 1730's, he has been droning on about it for weeks now. About how he thinks that one battle lead to the goblins winning control of banking system a hundred years later." Evan reasoned.

"He has been on about that for a bit now." Snape agreed "I really hope this inane drivel will show up on the OWLS and it is just not wasting my time."

"Yes, because you have such a full social calendar," Evan replied with an eye-roll.

Snape gave an indignant sniff and gestured to himself, "You should feel nothing but joy and honor that I deem you worthy enough to carve out time for you in my demanding agenda."

Evan couldn't help but grin. "Thank you ever so much for that."

They made it to History of Magic early, as they always did, but instead of Snape's customary reading, Evan noted that lately the two of them talked about nothing of consequence really. That Snape had started to warm up to him a bit, filled Evan with some kind of emotion, probably pride and a sense of success in being able to start fulfilling on the promise he had made to himself earlier in the year.

"What are you grinning about?" Snape asked as he pulled out his notes and yet another Shakespeare book, not opening it, just setting it down to the side when he decided that Binns was no longer worth listening to.

"Huh?" Evan had not even noticed. "Nothing really."

Snape gave him a raised eyebrow to show him his confusion and amusement before shaking his head lightly. "You are an enigma."

Before Evan could reply, the rest of the class was filing in along with Binns, who truly preferred that no one talk in his classes out of respect. Shame he didn't notice no one talked most of the time because they were mostly all close to death with boredom.

As Mulciber passed Evan's desk he placed the borrowed copy of the prophet on top of Evan's notes. Which Evan noted he hadn't even bothered to put back together properly.

"Thanks again, Michaels," Mulciber was genuinely thankful, but excited about the story which was making Evan wonder about how much Mulciber knew.

As he went to casually ask Snape why he thought Mulciber was so giddy, a headline with something about Lestrange behind the first couple of pages caught his eye. Not wanting to attract attention from Binns, Evan opened the paper silently to the third page.

_**Loss from Lestrange Lineage!**_

_Saraon Lestrange, the would be heir to the Lestrange line was pronounced dead yesterday afternoon by the Healers at Saint Mungo's hospital. While the full report was not given for cause of death, it has been rumored that there was some type of asphyxiation_ _most likely from choking. Rodoulphous nor Bellatrix were available for comment._

The blurry photo below showed Rodolphus escorting Bellatrix, whose face was shielded, out of St. Mungos hospital. Evan was about to put away the paper when Bellatrix looked up for just a moment before Roldolphus grimaced and covered her head again.

Even though it was just for a split second, Evan knew he saw it- that psychopathic gleam had arrived to make a home in the crazy eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange.

* * *

When the morning prophet arrived on Wednesday announcing 3 more marks, making the total 6 with the two in the paper from yesterday, a definite air of suspicion and general unease was making its way into the castle.

People were starting to wonder who was doing it and why and if it was related to the random disappearances that had been happening over the last couple of years. These sorts of things just didn't happen in the wizarding world, Evan just wondered behind his shields how much longer it was going to be until people knew it was Voldemort.

The fact that Voldemort was acting out again, reminded Evan of why he was here. He looked over to the Gryffindor table and saw that people were once again huddled over editions of _The Prophet_ (more and more students were receiving copies now). James didn't look so worried, but he was casting glances over at Lily, typical. Sirius was trying to make James laugh in his own way, while Wormtail was trying to accomplish the same things as Sirius in an obnoxious manner, and Remus looked a bit sick into his bowl of porridge.

"Not looking so good is it?"

"Huh?" Evan snapped back to look at Snape.

"Whatever is happening, it is being done with a specific agenda," Snape said slowly, as he looked at the paper and at the Gryffindor table with a solemn expression. "Have you noticed the trend yet?" he asked quietly.

Evan nodded. He looked into the troubled face of Severus Snape, as he too looked over at the Gryffindor table, and Evan was reminded with a brutal force what this man would do for him one day. Sure, it had been out of love for his mother and a promise to Dumbledore, but he never did have to keep his word. He didn't need to show him those memories and he had to have been so lonely and stressed the last two years of his life.

No, that was not how he deserved to spend them, if Evan had anything to say about it. Which thankfully, he did. It was time to start analyzing the charms in the photograph from his Uncle. He would have to go after meeting Lily tonight, he wanted her to be able to almost do the charm before going out into London for Christmas. After though, he promised he would head to the Room of Requirement and begin working in earnest to finding a cure for Severus.

* * *

Snape and Evan decided to walk with Lily down to the front gates on Monday the 22nd to see her off for winter break, so after Evan finished his usual morning routine he went to wake Snape up so that the two of them could see Lily off. Pulling back the curtains, Evan snickered to himself at the sight of Snape sprawled across the bed. For someone who made sure that all of their school materials were so meticulously organized, Snape slept like a slob. He was lying on his stomach with one arm bent beneath the pillow and the other stretched out over the side of the bed. His legs were twisted in the sheets and his whole body seemed to be tilted, so he was almost lying across the bed instead of on it.

"Severus, c'mon, time to get up," Evan said quietly, even thought the rest of the boys in the dorm had left to eat an early breakfast before leaving for the break.

No response.

"Severussss,"

This time there was a noise and Snape burying his head more into the pillow, so much so that all Evan could see was black hair tousled everywhere.

Evan wished he could sleep as deeply. With a small huff, Evan sat in the middle of Snape's bed and reached out for his right shoulder, as it was the closest to him.

"Severus, you're going to hate me if I don't make you get out of bed to see Lily off," Evan said at a more normal volume and gently shook Snape's shoulder.

Snape did not jolt awake, instead he turned his head slowly and looked blearily up at Evan.

"…Evan?"

"Time to wake up sleeping beauty, we are supposed to meet Lily downstairs in 20 minutes and you said you wanted to shower first," Evan sat up off the bed and began looking through his trunk for a jumper to wear over his shirt.

"Tell Lily it is an ungodly hour of the morning and I am unable to send her off and happy Christmas," Snape announced before shoving his head back under the pillow.

"If you don't get up now, then you are going to have to mail Lily's present," Evan reasoned.

"You can bring it to her," came the muffled reply.

Evan had never been in the room when Snape woke up in the mornings and at the moment he was torn between amusement and exasperation.

"Severus if you get up now, after we send Lily off we'll go get you a giant cup of earl grey," Evan knew if Snape were more awake, he would have been in the shower already.

"Great Hall doesn't have tea till 9 if you miss breakfast," Snape retorted as he tried to cover his head more with the pillow.

"I know where to get some. Now get up for I'll go get some cold water to throw on you," Evan watched with hidden amusement as Snape appeared from under the pillow, black hair sticking every which way, his eyes narrowed.

"You wouldn't,"

"Would you like to test that theory?" Evan smiled sweetly.

Snape grumbled something under his breath and threw back the covers, revealing only a pair of pajama bottoms and Evan was sincerely thankful the other boy didn't sleep in the buff.

"It better be a huge cup of earl grey," Snape muttered as he walked past Evan to go to the bathroom.

"Meet you in the common room in ten," he called back.

Snape waved an arm in acknowledgement before disappearing behind the bathroom door.

Evan laughed to himself as he picked out Lily's present from his trunk before throwing on his winter cloak and went down stairs to the common room, which was quite literally empty, they served breakfast earlier than usual on the day the trains left for break. Evan recalled when the sign-up sheet was posted only two other people were staying back this year and if recalled correctly, they were in the lower years.

Evan took a seat on one of the more comfortable looking couches that he never got a chance to sit on and really looked around the common room. Sure he saw it every day, but it wasn't like he actually hung out in the common room at all. He mostly was either in the library with Snape and/or Lily or studying in his room. A part of him wondered if he really should be more social with the people in his house, but the fact that a good portion may very well end up dead or serving his once arch nemeses, didn't really sit too well with him.

There was a small fire going in the fireplace emitting a faint orange glow that was essentially drowned out by the ever-present green glow provided by the lake. The room itself was kind of comforting in a strange way. More calming, then his last house, it was more of a place where one could think but still have ample opportunities to act like youths.

"Alright, I am cleansed and ready to face the world," Snape's unmistakable drawl came from behind Evan.

Evan turned his head and saw Snape descending the last few steps of the staircase. The two of them exited through the common room and began the trek to the entrance hall.

"I had no idea you were such a morning person," Evan teased lightly.

Snape looked a bit pink. "Well you are nearly never there when I wake up normally."

"How in the world do you manage to wake yourself up normally?" Evan asked as they reached the first flight of stairs.

"I usually let the surrounding noises wake me up, before I gather myself up to get ready," Snape shrugged.

The noise of students getting ready to leave for the holiday and saying goodbye to their friends was getting louder as they grew closer to the entrance hall.

"Where are we meeting Lily again?" Evan asked as they clambered up the remaining stairs.

"Near the painting of the witch arranging greenery," Snape nodded his head toward the mentioned painting as they reached the hall.

The hall was full to the brim of students all in their winter cloaks, chattering away while they waited for the carriages to take them to the Hogwarts express. Evan tried to look over the mass of students, but was unsuccessful seeing as how he was still probably the shortest kid in the year. Snape on the other hand, was able to walk on his tip toes and get a pretty good view. Jerk.

"Oh, Lily is in the alcove next to the portrait," Snape began walking normally again. "It appears as if other pupils decided to meet at our intended location."

Snape lead the way as they weaved their ways through the students.

"Ah, I see you managed to drag yourself out of bed early enough to come and see me off," Lily teased Snape as she spotted them.

"Evan is quite punctual in the morning Lily, it's not becoming of you to imply otherwise," Snape replied as if he had no idea to what she was actually referring to.

"You could have mentioned how bad he is about waking up in the morning," Evan said to Lily as they shuffled a bit more away from the noise, so they could hear each other better.

Lily snickered. "Sorry, I forgot how bad he could be."

"I had to bribe him to get him out of bed!" Evan exclaimed.

"Lemme guess, with tea right?" Lily caught Evan's eye and the two would probably have started laughing if they had not been interrupted.

"While I normally do enjoy the demoralizing of my character at such an indecent hour of the morning, I implore to the both of you that we get down to the business for which we decided to meet," Snape drawled out.

Lily let out a small laugh. "Oh I miss grumpy morning Sev," she pinched his cheek, which resulted in a scowl from Snape and snickering from Evan.

"I detest morning people," Snape grumbled, glaring at the two of them, but Evan could tell he was only half annoyed by the teasing.

Deciding to save the boy from any further torment, Evan reached into his cloak and pulled out the small parcel which Gladrags had done up in red and gold, making it look festive and a bit Gryffindor-ish, which Evan didn't really mind.

"Here Lily, this is for you," a strange wash of nerves and embarrassment tried to make its way known before Evan was able to clamp it down and place it back behind his shield. The laughter from Snape's expense left Lily's eyes as she turned to face him.

"Oh, thanks," her voice was soft as she reached out slowly and took the present, her charm bracelet making a small jingle as she took the present and pulled it close.

"I left your present, yours too Sev, on my bed. McGonagall said the house-elves will make sure you get it on Christmas day," Lily explained.

"Since, we are giving these out now," Snape reached into his cloak and drew out a small parcel wrapped in green.

"Any hints this year?" Lily asked as she took the small box from Snape and rested it carefully on top of Evan's gift.

"Nope," Snape smiled fondly at her. "Evan and I also put charms on both of them so you can't peak early this year either."

"Yeah, I heard you are real bad about that," Evan grinned at the red-head. Snape had told him about it when they had got back from Hogsmeade. Apparently when Lily was younger and first learning how to control her magic, one Christmas she peaked in all of the presents before wrapping them up again to make it look like nothing had happened.

"I am not!" Lily huffed out, though her cheeks were a bit pink.

"Don't listen to her Evan. Last year she enticed my mum with fresh cookies to discover what I had made for her," Snape said through a smile as Lily placed the packages carefully in her cloak.

"Hey, I almost had her caving too," Lily flipped her hair over her shoulder, " if you had just come back from the store a bit later, I would have been successful."

"I see what you meant," Evan muttered in a loud enough voice that all of them could hear as he nudged Snape.

The three laughed good naturedly before a voice interrupted.

"We will now start boarding the carriages!" Flitwick's squeak voice announced through the hall.

Lily tilted her head up so all her hair was dangling behind her, as if to get ready to put it back in a ponytail when she smirked. Evan followed her gaze and saw a small branch of mistletoe hanging above her and Snape.

"Hey, Sev," she called out in almost a sing-song voice, as she resumed a normal standing position.

Snape who had been looking elsewhere in the crowd at that moment turned around and looked at her, eyebrow raised. "May I help you, Lily?"

"Hey, look mistletoe," She pointed up at the ceiling and gave him a knowing look as she waggled her eyebrows.

"Oh," Snape turned a bit pink as he looked at it, as if he was making sure it was above the two people he thought it was.

Before Snape could make another eloquent remark, Lily threw an arm around his neck and landed a large kiss right on the side of Severus' face, practically in the center of his cheek, causing Snape's face to flush.

"Lily!" Severus squawked. "Sweet Merlin, unhand me woman!" Snape turned a bit redder as a laughing Lily removed her arm. Snape brought the back of his hand to his face and started rubbing at the spot where Lily had kissed, Evan figured it was to help hide his blush. This just caused Lily to laugh more. Evan felt a strange churning in is gut, almost like jealousy. Which was silly, he really shouldn't feel jealous about the fact that he never wiped an embarrassing kiss from Lily off his cheek.

Lily rubbed at her eye, presumably to remove a tear "Sorry, to good a chance to resist," she managed to let out through her quieting laughter.

"Oh, come on now, let's get towards the entrance so we don't cause more blockage," Lily grabbed Snape's arm and Evan looked behind and saw that people were indeed having to walk around them.

Evan hurried along to the other side of Lily and was slightly startled when she slipped her arm around his, so she was now linked with both him and Severus.

"Now, make sure you boys don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone," she teased as they shuffled their way to the exit.

Snape nearly snorted "Yes, Lily," he replied dryly.

Lily was extracting promises from them both to write so they would not miss her too terribly and was telling Snape not to read too much as they got closer to the front doors when a voice called out.

"Lily, there you are! Are you getting a carriage with Mary and I?" Lily's friend Heather was just a few feet in front of them.

"Oh, yeah, I'll be there in a sec," Lily let go of the boys arms' and stepped away from them.

"See you next year!" She extended her arms out smiling at Severus, who returned the hug, grumbling something to Lily which caused her to giggle.

They parted and Lily turned to face Evan. She smiled, differently than she had with Snape and Evan took a deep breath and had to shove all of his emotions behind his shields as he received the first hug from his mother that he would be able to commit to memory.

Lily was just a hair taller than he was so his face was engulfed with her flaming red hair, but he didn't care. She smelled of apples. He didn't know why he noticed, but felt a compulsion to remember that. As they grew closer in the hug, her arms around his neck and he just reaching about her in a half-hazard way, Evan noted he really was not that used to hugging people, he felt a strange warmth that was vaguely like what he felt that day in the train.

It was a strange, not erotic by many measure of the imagination, warmth. It was the kind of feeling he imagined you would encounter after coming home from a stormy day to find your mum there baking you cookies and pouring a cup of hot chocolate while she reminded you not to play so long outside in the cold, but still wrapped you in hot fluffy towels anyway. It was that kind of warmth.

It didn't last very long, but as Lily pulled away, Evan swore her smile did not reach her eyes.

"Lily, come on! Mary has already gotten a carriage with several boys and you know how she is if we leave her alone for too long!" Heather's voice broke Evan away from his train of thought.

"Duty calls, Heather I'm coming!" She called over her shoulder. She smiled back at Snape and Evan before heading down towards her friends.

"Hey Lily," Evan heard himself calling out.

She turned around and looked at him questioningly.

"Be safe,"

Lily nodded and turned around walking towards Heather.

"Now, I believe I was promised some earl grey tea," Snape announced as they watched Lily head down the steps of the castle.

"Huh, oh yeah," Evan lead Snape away from the people filing out the doors and back towards the great hall. He led Snape to the door to the right of the main staircase in the entrance hall and beckoned for him to follow.

Snape raised an eyebrow but followed him anyway.

"Where are we going Evan?"Snape asked as they walked down the corridor.

"Haven't you been here before?" Evan asked, puzzled. Most students had usually found the kitchens in some way or another by this point.

"No, not really," Snape did that shrug thing again. "Do you know what is down here?" Snape asked turning the tables.

"Oh, yeah it's the kitchens," Evan said off-handedly as they approached the painting of the giant bowl of fruit.

Evan turned and saw Snape looking at him in surprise. Crap. He was a new student, he wasn't supposed to know things like this. "I overheard some older students talking about it in the library the other day." Whew, that had been close.

"Uh-huh," Snape seemed to buy it enough, but was still looking at him oddly.

"Just go ahead and tickle the pear," Evan instructed pointing to the fruit.

"Excuse me?"

"Tickle the pear," Evan repeated.

Snape eyed him, but reached out and tickled the fruit anyway. The pear giggled as it normally does and became a handle. Evan watched at Snape's face grew from speculative to excitement.

He grinned at Evan and pulled the door open to the kitchens. Evan pretended to be just as shocked as Snape was as they entered.

The house-elves weren't as busy today, but it seemed like they were busy trying out new recipes for the dinner on Christmas.

"Oh young masters!" one cried out and soon there were four elves in front of them.

"Hello," Evan didn't kneel down Michael said it was really important not to do that in front of purebloods and that some house elves actually took offense. "My friend and I missed breakfast this morning and we were wondering if you could spare some toast for us and perhaps a large cup of earl grey tea?"

"Of course!" One squeaked and led the way for Evan and Snape to sit at the normal sized table.

By the time they had sat down, there was already a pot of tea and an assortment of fresh fruit on the table.

"Talk about service," Snape said awed by the house-elves.

"Have you never seen one?" Evan asked as one ran up to place a tray of pastries on the table.

"Only flashes really, I have never been in such a close proximity and seen them work before," Snape watched as another one came forward with plates, apologizing for the late delivery.

"It is quite alright," Evan told the elf. "I do not believe we were ready to start eating yet."

The elf looked at him oddly, almost as if it was confused by Evan's presence.

"Quizzy! What is you doing!" another elf came by and grabbed Quizzy's arm. Quizzy appeared alarmed about something and was practically pushed away by the other elf.

"I is apologizing sir. Quizzy is not very good at not putting her ears in places that are not her business!"

"Err- that is quite all right," Evan wasn't sure if he was supposed to re-assure the elf or not.

Apparently he wasn't the elf gave a quick nod and scurried off to another area of the kitchens. Evan didn't put too much stock into the conversation, having learned that elves were just strange sometimes.

"Hey, Evan how much milk would you prefer to have in your tea?" Snape's question brought him back to their breakfast. Evan showed him and the two of them settled in and finished the rest of their breakfast, talking about what they were planning to do during Christmas break.

* * *

Evan was only slightly surprised that there were no presents at the foot of his bead when he awoke for his morning run on Christmas day. He almost felt silly for keeping up with the morning routine, even on Christmas, but it was so second nature that now, he knew he would be itching to run later in the day if he didn't do it now.

He made the invisible journey up the room of requirement and as usual the room provided him with something akin to a muggle track that allowed him to run the necessary amount of miles. What was especially convenient was how the room almost knew when he was settling to go into his mediation.

Plants would appear from nowhere and the sound of running water made it easier for him to sink into his meditative state and drift into his mind.

It had been an interesting break so far. Like on his first stay at the castle, there was only one table where the meals were served. He and Severus had been spending a lot of time together as well. They had had a snowball fight the other day, which filled him with amusement at the sight of Severus half-covered in snow, trying conjure a bigger snowball in retaliation. Mostly they just sat around and read, or played chess. Snape had even broken out some gobstones and they had played the other evening until the wee hours of morning. It had been fun, in a strange sort of mellowing way. Maybe tomorrow he would go for a nice quiet ride on his broom around the castle.

Evan couldn't even bring himself to be annoyed about the fact that he hadn't been able to analyze the charm on the picture. He really didn't want to do it in front of Snape, so instead he had checked out a charm book on how to do translation spells from the library and had been reading up on that so he could read the French book on serpents more easily.

Taking a deep breath, Evan slipped more into his mind. He hoped Lily would like her present, and Severus too. He had taken Lily's advice and purchased a new set of phials and storage jars through the owl service provided by one of the companies in _Potions Quarterly._

If he wasn't in 1975, he would probably be at the Weasley's house this morning, or Grimmauld Place. Would he have been comfortable with the Weaselys? It was going to be a different Christmas without Fred, well it wasn't like he was not going to experience one day, was he? From what he had gathered from the Fates and Michael, he was going to just go back to his life when he reached the point from where he had left. Evan was fuzzy on the details and tried not to think about it too much.

He wondered if he would have been with Ginny, had he not gone back to 1975, would his feelings for her have slipped away, as they had now? He had always thought that if two people were meant to be there, nothing would have diminished their feelings for each other. What did this say about him and Ginny? It was almost as if Michael had forgotten about her completely, Evan didn't even recall him saying anything about her at all.

An alarm sounded somewhere, signifying the end of his meditation. Slowly Evan replaced his shields, one by one, making sure that no known information would be able to leak through. One more deep breath and Evan was ready to begin his trek back down stairs.

As he stood, Evan stretched out his muscles, relieving the strain from sitting in a meditative position for so long. He loved the feeling after running and meditating, it was so rejuvenating and refreshing. With one last stretch, Evan applied the disillusionment charm to himself and headed out of the room of requirement, going towards the stairs that would take him back to the dungeons the fastest.

"Mr. Michaels, I would say nice to see you, though I am afraid that would cause me to be a liar," Dumbledore's voice spoke from somewhere behind him.

While Evan was sure that Dumbledore knew he went to the room of requirement, the older wizard had not yet approached him about it. Cancelling his charm, Evan turned and faced Dumbledore.

"Headmaster," he inclined his head. Dumbledore did not look as cheery as he had the previous night at dinner. In fact, he looked as if he had been up all night.

Dumbledore walked towards him and indicated that Evan should continue walking as well.

"Mr. Michaels, it would appear that the person behind the attacks has come forward and announced his pride in doing so," Dumbledore looked on ahead.

Evan stopped, taking a deep breath and prepared himself for the conversation. "Sir, that is news, but I must ask why you are telling me this."

Dumbledore turned around. "I feel you know more information then you appear to," he said evenly.

"Sir," Evan sighed. Michael had hinted something like this may happen and while Evan would want to jump in and help, he just couldn't. "I may know things, but unfortunately I cannot help you. I am just a student, you see. My Uncle's, yours and my agreement this summer stated as much." Dumbledore looked as if he wanted to say something more, but Evan stopped him.

"The most that I can say is, get your order together and work as hard as you can," Evan offered his old mentor a sad smile.

Instead of fighting him on it, Dumbledore nodded, a resigned look set into his features. "Happy Christmas, Mr. Michaels,"

"Happy Christmas, headmaster," With that Evan, headed back down to the dungeons, intent on not seeing the Daily Prophet until he had at least opened his presents.

Severus was of course, still dead asleep by the time Evan got back to the room. Evan shook his head in amusement and headed to take his shower, noting that the house elves had placed the gifts in a neat pile at the end of their beds while he had been gone.

By the time, Evan had showered and dressed in casual wizards wear, Snape was still asleep. This time on his back, as if he was trying to make a snow angel in his sleep.

"Severus, come on! Wake up, it's Christmas!" Evan didn't even bother trying to speak quietly, if he did it just took Snape twice as long to get up. Sighing in resignation, he did what he usually ended up doing and sat on Snape's bed to gently shake the other boy's shoulder.

"Severusss, I want to open presents and I promised I'd wait for-ah!" Evan was interrupted by Snape's left arm hooking around his waist and pulling him down on the bed with him, as he turned in his sleep. By the time Severus had settled again, his face was inches away from Evan, at least still on the pillow and Evan's legs were currently at an odd angle over Severus' hip.

Okay, this was weird. Evan tried to slow down his heart rate, which had accelerated after the surprise attack from Snape.

Hmmm, how could he play this to his advantage? Well, he had always wanted to know if Severus Snape was ticklish…

Moving his right arm, very slowly Evan found Severus' side and started to try and lightly move his fingers. The effect was instantaneous. Severus' nose started to crinkle and a small smile started to play its way onto the other boys' face before Severus began laughing out loud, his hand had thankfully been removed from Evan and both were now clutching at his sides.

"Stop it, stop! Cease and desist, I am awake!" Severus cried out as he laughed.

Evan was surprised to notice he was laughing too, as he did in fact 'cease and desist' his attack. Evan's laughter was dying down, as was his friends, as he sat up to leave the bed.

"What in the name of all that is magical, made you decide to wake me up in such a strange manner?" Severus asked as soon as his laughter had died down.

"Well you rolled over in your sleep and took me with you and I just went with it," Evan explained as he stood and walked over to his pile of gifts.

"I pulled you down?" Severus seemed embarrassed by it, which didn't make sense to him, people always did strange things in their sleep.

"Yeah," he waved it off. "But what is important is that now you are awake, if you want to shower now or after presents?"

"After presents," Severus grinned back. He pulled his sheets around himself, probably to combat himself from the cold of the dungeon (Evan didn't know why he didn't bother just sleeping in more traditional wizard pajamas) and gathered his own pile of presents. Evan followed suit and they situated themselves in the middle of the room.

The two glanced at each other and through some unspoken agreement, tore into their presents at once. Evan noticed his from Severus was in a small rectangular flat box, so he sat that to the side and opened the ones from the boys in the room. He had expected to get generic gifts from the rest of the boys, and was slightly surprised that he had received a new quill from J.D., a copy of _Hogwarts, A History_ from Nott(because he was new to the school), sugar quills from Mulciber, and a slab of pixie peppermint bark from Ganter.

He was not completely grateful he had Severus help him pick out gifts for the rest of the boys, instead of just giving them all something like Bertie Bott's beans.

He was glad when he opened his gift from Remus that he had decided to get Remus the new ink set he had been talking about in potion's last class. Remus had apparently been listening to his rant about how his quills kept running away from him so he had gotten him a quill that was charmed to float above your work while you were looking something else up.

The third to last parcel he had was from Michael, Evan noticed that Severus had stopped opening his own and just had two left, the one from Lily and him.

Michael's gift was in a fair-sized box and wasn't too heavy.

"What do you think it is?" Snape asked.

"I'm not sure," Evan knew better in the magical world not to shake a gift, so he set it down lightly before unwrapping it.

Underneath the wrappings was a square wooden box, with iron hinges about the middle and latch on the opposite side. Unsure as to its contents, Evan did a minor charm to be sure it was from his Uncle(which his magical signature was all over it) and undid the latch and lifted the lid.

The box was lined with some kind of soft looking fabric and in the center of the box was a wizards camera with a note placed on top.

_Evan,_

_I know I am not able to be as present in your life as you might hope to be, but I thought this may help. I cannot wait to see all the fun moments you will capture, well those that are all right for such an old wizard as myself to see._

_Happy Christmas,_

_Michael_

Evan passed the note to Severus and brought out the instruction pamphlet that was located next to the camera.

"Well it seems like he really does want to work on making you guys a family," Severus commented after reading the note and placing it back on top of the camera.

"I suppose," Evan replied as he placed the pamphlet back in the box and moved the camera to the side. He knew that Michael was giving him the camera so he could at least finally have some pictures of his family and friends for his own.

"Lily's first?" Snape asked as they sat facing each other once again.

Evan nodded and picked up the book shaped silver and green wrapped gift from Lily. Unwrapping this one slowly he saw that it was a book on becoming a healer. He was a bit shocked, he didn't recall mentioning his Saturday morning training sessions with Pomfrey to her or Severus yet. Evan opened the book and saw a piece of paper slip out.

_Evan,_

_I saw you looking through some healing books the last time we were at the library and I thought this may help you out on your way. I think you would make a great healer, you are so studious and attentive to other people, even if you don't notice that about yourself._

_Love Always, _

_Lily_

Evan set the book and note next to his camera, knowing that he would look more into it later, and saw Severus excitedly holding a book as well.

"What did Lily get you?"

"She got me a new book on riddles," Snape turned it around. It was a muggle book advertising over 100 riddles that were guaranteed to make your brain hurt. "It's sort of a tradition, she gets me something like this every year, and then I tease her mercilessly when she is unable solve them,"

Evan smiled, he could easily picture Severus reading a riddle aloud, solving it in his head and Lily telling him to tell her how to solve it.

"Err, I guess," Evan started as he reached for Severus' gift. He wasn't sure why he was nervous about it, granted he was still heaps more nervous that Severus wouldn't like his gift.

Evan picked up the slim rectangular box, wrapped in old editions of the prophet and undid the twine bow.

"Uh, it is quite all right if you do not like it," Severus mumbled, fiddling with the edges of one of his blankets.

Evan nodded, knowing Severus wouldn't want some kind of affirmation, well at least until he had opened it. He carefully took off the paper and lifted the lid off the box. Inside was a thin leather strap with a metal clasp on both ends. In the center, was a small piece of a circular bronzed metal, with a raised symbol they had learned about in ancient runes. Evan swore he had seen something like it before.

"I know it is not much, my mum, well you are aware of the financial status of my family, and, so I tend to just make things-" Severus babbled out.

"You made this?" Evan asked, genuinely surprised. The craftsmanship on it seemed like someone had spent a lot of time on the production of the item.

"Yes, I-"

"Severus, it's brilliant!" Evan cut in, trying to save his friend, who was quite possibly the most nervous Evan had ever seen him.

"The symbol, it means camaraderie, right?" Evan asked taking the strap out of the box and inspecting the symbol more carefully.

"Yes," Severus nodded.

"Here, you wanna put it on?" Evan held out the strap, which he assumed was some kind of necklace.

Severus nodded and took the strap from Evan. Evan turned around so it would make it easier for Severus to clasp it. Evan heard Severus shuffle over and watched as the leather passed over his eyes and a new weight was added to his neck. If he didn't know any better, he would think that Severus was shaking as he put the necklace on, he was probably just trying to figure out where to clasp it.

"Got it," Severus announced.

Evan turned back around, grabbing his wand he accio's a mirror to him. It hung loosely around his neck, with the circle part hanging just in between his collar bone. It was a bit weird wearing another necklace on top of the one from Michael, but if he had gotten used to wearing that one, he could grow accustomed to wearing the one Severus made him along with the locket.

"It looks fantastic!" Evan smiled at Severus who seemed pleased with himself.

Severus reached out for Evan's gift, and all his nervousness came flooding back. His own gift seemed not as well thought out now. After all Severus had literally made him something and he had just picked out a book at Groves'.

"Er, I hope you like it, I mean it's not as well thought out as yours but," Evan began to explain, but cut himself off as Snape looked up and smiled.

"I am thrilled you think so highly of my gift," Severus went back to opening Evan's gift, and Evan could tell that this time, Severus was being sincere.

Groves had wrapped the book well and sent in a light wooden shipping box with different pieces of wizarding paper that were changing colors. Severus lifted the top piece of tissue and looked down at the book, his expression unreadable.

"Err, if you don't like it, that's okay," Evan was feeling mental for listening to Lily and Groves. "I'm sure that if you want a different book, Groves would let us switch it out. Probably." Evan gulped down his nerves. Severus traced his finger lightly down the front of the book.

"I've never had a book this nice to myself before," Severus said quietly as he pulled out the book, setting it on his lap. "Most of mine are hand-me-down from my mum, and she has a rather large collection. Even if she doesn't have a book we can usually find it at the library," Severus looked back up towards him and Evan found he couldn't meet his gaze.

"You don't even know if you'll like the book yet," he mumbled at the floor.

"No, but I have been wanting to read Oscar Wilde for awhile now, I was just trying to get my way through most of mum's Shakespeare collection," Severus admitted.

Evan looked back up and saw that Severus was smiling, a real smile not connected to any cynicism or sarcasm, just happy. It was contagious and Evan found himself smiling back, as if it was the most natural thing.

"I can't wait to read it," he placed his hand on Evan's arm, as if to stop him from thinking otherwise.

"Oh, okay then. I think I shall go read on about how to work this new camera," Evan reached for the pamphlet and felt Severus' hand leave his arm.

"I think I shall take my shower, would you like to go down to Christmas tea after?" Severus asked as he stood and stretched.

"Sounds good," Evan agreed and took the instruction pamphlet down to read on the comfort of one of the couches.

It wasn't until he sat down on the couch and saw the front page of _The Prophet_ that he realized he had completely forgotten about his conversation with Dumbledore that morning.

Picking up the paper he saw the all but screaming headline.

_VOLDEMORT, THE NEW DARK LORD?_

_TBC...  
_

* * *

So thanks for reading, sorry about the delay- but I hope the length helped make up for it!

Please review, to bring some small happy to my sad life full of textbooks and papers.

-BongoMonkeys

Next time, birthdays and valentines.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Err, right. Hello! *hides from readers*

These last couple of months have been bursting with stuffs to do, and I have had not as much time to write as I want. I was trying to get this chapter to be as long as the last and unfortunately it isn't. But I felt so bad for not updating!

Anywho, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I shall now return to being squished by my books and projects.

But first! Thanks to Siri for helping out and betaing this chapter! I owe you! Also to all those who reviewed, I know I usually write back here but I don't has time to answer and will add it in later, for revising is calling me.

-BongoMonkeys

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter 12**

Evan reached for the paper slowly, as if the slow descent of his hand to the actual object would affect the outcome of the content he was about to read. His hand eventually met with the soft parchment; he didn't know why he was so nervous. He knew Voldemort had often attacked, knew that the time he had traveled to was bleak, drenched in darkness and suspicion. However, Evan found that he was enjoying his time here in the past. For the first time in a long time, Voldemort was not the topic of nearly every conversation he had. Knowing history and being faced with the destruction were two very different things.

Evan flattened the paper out across his lap, displaying the photograph on the front cover which depicted a couple of muggle shops not too far from the Leaky Cauldron, with the Dark Mark above it, with several awfully familiar cloaked figures in white masks.

_VOLDEMORT, THE NEW DARK LORD?_

_On this 24__th__ of December 1975, a local muggle shopping establishment was attacked by a group of men in black cloaks and white masks who, eyewitnesses report, called themselves "Death Eaters"._

_The Department Of Muggle Affairs has worked tirelessly since the early hours of the morning to repair the damage and track down witnesses. Before being Obliviated, a muggle eyewitness claimed that one had come forward and announced that the attack was in honor of their great leader, 'Lord Voldemort'. The "Death Eater" announced that if the Wizarding World did not take notice of their demands, more attacks on Muggles and Muggleborns were to follow._

_The "Death Eaters" also left a message for the Ministry on the pavement. "Muggles are weak and we shall no longer sully our world with their tainted offspring. Join the leader for the preservation of a pure world, Voldemort. Voldemort will make sure that mudbloods will no longer ruin our traditions and lifestyles. Those who support filth will not be around for long. We promise that."_

Evan heard movement behind him and turned around to see Severus heading down the staircase. The other boy seemed to be in a joyous mood, if the extra bounce in his step was anything to go by. Something in Evan's face must have ruined the moment, for as soon as Severus caught his eye, the other boy's features settled into a frown.

"May I inquire as to what predicament has lead to you looking as if your pet crup has passed away?" Severus asked as he strolled up and half sat on the armrest, placing his left arm along the couch to balance his weight whilst leaning over, peering into Evan's lap to get a good look at what was placed there.

With a slight twinge of regret for having to dampen Severus' unusually chipper mood with bad news, Evan folded the paper back to the front, so that the other boy could see the article title. Evan watched as Severus' face fell and his normally pale skin seemed to turn grey.

"Oh… does it say the location of the attack?" Severus' eyes were glued to the picture.

Knowing what Severus was invariably worried about, Evan caught his eye. "It was nowhere near north London."

Severus visibly relaxed.

Before Severus could read too much into the article, Evan grabbed the edge of the prophet. "Why don't we just head down to breakfast and try to enjoy the rest of the morning?" Evan really did not want to spend the rest of Christmas morning talking about Voldemort.

Severus nodded slowly, but he tucked away the paper in his robes instead of placing it back on the table.

Evan stood and the two began walking in silence to towards the great hall. Voldemort had ruined many celebrations in his life, all of his birthdays (after all it was the evil bastards fault he didn't have parents), summer holidays, Christmas's… Evan was going to do his best to make sure that Voldemort didn't ruin this one.

"So what did you get Lily?" Evan asked as they clambered up the stairs to the entrance hall. Snape had not told him what he had gotten Lily before Christmas, claiming that the 'conniving sneaky red-head' would try to wheedle it out of him.

Severus looked up, as if startled out of a reverie and shook his head. "Oh, I just made her a charm for the bracelet." As if the gift-giving was now as every-day as what kind of jam he was picking for his toast in the morning

"Oh, well I am sure she'll like it," Evan said hoping to ease whatever insecurities he thought Severus might be having, going on the idea that Severus was nervous about giving gift as evidence from earlier this morning.

"Lily has given me no reason to thinking otherwise, if our previous exchanges are to be accounted for," Snape said with shrug as he shoved his hands back into his pockets.

Evan was unable to ask a further question as the two entered the Great Hall for brunch. There was just one table, as there had been on his first stay during Christmas at Hogwarts.

"Ah, Mr. Michaels and Mr. Snape, won't you please join us?" Dumbledore gestured to the two remaining seats at the table.

"Delighted to be joining you on this Christmas, morn," Evan said to Dumbledore before taking his seat next to Severus, who seemed to tense for a moment.

"Are you all right?" Evan whispered as he reached for some bacon.

"I am just fine, thanks," Snape said crisply as he took the offered plate of bacon from Evan.

Before Evan could reply, Dumbledore stood at the head of the table.

"Now, I know a great many of you are anxious to hear about the effects of last nights attack. However, there is little we know of the identities of the victims. While this is disheartening, be rest assured that the Ministry is working overtime at the moment to let us know of the casualties. We should be able to let you know by the time dinner is served. For now let us try to do our best to enjoy the rest of Christmas," Dumbledore sat back down.

While Evan tried his best to show Christmas enthusiasm and place the attack to the back of his mind, Snape merely shrugged or gave mono-syllable answers for the remainder of breakfast.

As the two stood up to leave, Slughorn waved them over.

"Mister Snape, if you will come with me, your mother is waiting for you at the front gates," Slughorn said, his usual smile in place and for once, Evan was grateful.

Severus nodded shortly. "I must go to my dorm to retrieve my cloak."

"All right then, I shall meet you in the Entrance Hall in ten minutes time," Slughorn hoisted the belt of his robe and went back to talking to Dumbledore.

Snape turned, walking towards the door of the hall and Evan took his place next to the sullen teenager * on his walk to the dorms.

"Did she ever let you know where she was going to take you today?" Evan asked, trying his best to bring up Snape's mood.

"I believe she is going to let it be a surprise," he said stiffly.

They continued the rest of the walk to the dorm in an awkward silence and Evan followed Snape into the room and sat on his bed as he watched Snape go through his belongings, the evidence of their exciting gift unwrapping still on the floor.

It must have reminded Snape that it was indeed Christmas and a tension left his shoulders for a minute. "Are you still amendable to meeting my mother?"

"Of course, I told you I would," Evan reaffirmed. "As long as I don't have to live up to the countless lies you told to her about me," he continued, hoping the tease would at least amuse Snape a bit.

"Don't worry about that, I doubt my mother believed me when I said my closest friend was half-goblin," Snape smirked at him as he hoisted his winter cloak over his arm. He stood straight up before reaching back down over his pile of gifts and placing something in his cloak.

No matter how short you are, I do not think you would be able to pull that off," The full tease was back.

Evan let himself smile back as he stood and stretched. Who would have thought the day would come when he would hope for Severus Snape to send some sort of insult his way.

"Hey, I'll have you know that we respect Uncle Grankor and Aunt Susan for their unique preferences," Evan stated with seriousness that earned him a snigger from Snape.

"Let us not keep your dear mother waiting," Evan said with a mock-bow and a gesture to the door.

Severus rolled his eyes at him as he walked out the door. As Evan went to grab his own winter cloak from his bed, he noticed that the item Snape had tucked into his robes was the book he had given him. Evan was unsure if this was a good or a bad sign, but he was sincerely hopeful it was the first.

The two strolled down to meet up with Slughorn at the Entrance Hall in a much more companionable silence than that which they had experienced on the way to the dungeons not ten minutes prior.

"Mr. Snape! Right on time, a trait most admirable!" Slughorn chortled. Apparently he had been into the eggnog a bit early. "Mr. Michaels, will you be joining Mr. Snape on this outing?"

"No sir, I am just walking with him to the gates."

"Ah, well then you two shan't mind if I join you on the walk towards the gates! Must make my way over to Celestina's party…"

Slughorn somehow situated himself in between the two boys, speaking of the exciting Christmas party plans he had for the day, telling them all about the famous former students he had had, those who he lead onto great jobs and where they were now.

They sight of the front gates did not arrive soon enough, in Evan's opinion.

"That is your mother I presume, Mr. Snape?" Slughorn asked Snape, gesturing with his eyes to the long figure standing outside of the gate.

"Yes," Severus seemed both happy and agitated about this.

The noise of their approach alerted the woman standing at the gate. She turned around and Evan got his first real look at Eileen Snape, not counting the picture of the teenager Hermione had found.

The first thing Evan noticed was how thin she was. The woman was gaunt, her dark hair was clasped at the base of her neck, making her angular nose stand out in an unattractive way and gave unnecessary length to her already long face. Her robes had the odd appearance of being washed too many times, while also looking as if they were removed from the back of the closet.

Upon seeing her son, her dark eyes warmed and a light smile graced her features, lightening the dreary aura that seemed to hang around her person.

Slughorn met up with her first to have a quick chat about who knows what before announcing he was off to his party and disappeared with a crack.

"Severus," Eileen held her arms out and embraced her son, who stiffened and returned the hug a bit awkwardly. The two parted. "Let me have a good look at you," she took his face in his hands. Evan held back to give the two a moment, the fact that he could use this as ammo for teasing Severus later was just a bonus.

"Mum! This is highly unnecessary!" Severus wriggled a bit under his mother's scrutiny as two small patches of red appeared on his cheeks.

"You grow up so fast, when I'm not around," Eileen smiled and stood back up to her normal height, which was just a couple of inches taller than Severus.

Severus mumbled something that sounded something like 'crazy mothers'.

"Severus, where are your manners?" Eileen asked her son as she looked over in Evan's direction.

"Oh, right. Mum this is Evan Michaels, eldest child of the house of Michaels." Snape gestured as Evan held out his hand.

"Evan this is my mother, Eileen Snape, current holder and head of the house of Prince," Eileen met Evan's hand. A strange distressing sensation washed over Evan as their hands met. It felt as if a wave of a person's essence washed over him as he heard the whispering of a non-descript sad, almost desperate voice that was in pain, crying out that it was just fine.

"Greetings in kind, Mrs. Snape. It is an honor to myself and my family to make your acquaintance, may our houses be allies one day," The rehearsed greeting for meeting the head of another house, fell from Evan's lips with ease as he bowed and placed the knuckles of Eileen's hand against his forehead. Whoever came up with all these rules was nuts. Holding on to that thought helped Evan focus on keeping the interaction running smoothly and not the desire to help Eileen.

"Greetings in kind, Mr. Michaels. I hope that an alliance may be struck as well," Eileen lightly pulled her hand out of Evan's grasp, brushing it along the top of his right shoulder, giving the indication that the meeting had gone well. The sinking sensations and the desperate urge to soothe faded as Eileen took her hand out of his, but an echo of the sensation lingered.

"Severus, you never imparted upon me how well mannered your newest acquaintance is," Eileen's gaze ran over him and Evan immediately felt self-conscious.

"I am sure I had mentioned it before, in our correspondence," Severus seemed annoyed again, at what Evan couldn't tell.

Deciding that it was most likely that Severus wished for some time alone with his mother, Evan coughed lightly to alert the other two to his presence.

"I am sure you two have many things to catch up on," Evan said in what he hoped was a casual voice.

"Well, it was an honor to meet you Mr. Michaels," Eileen curtseyed and waved her right hand. Before Evan could bow she added "May the knowledge from Merlin guide you," she eyed Evan critically.

Many months of meditation and keeping his real emotions behind his occlumency shields stopped Evan from gaping at the remark, it was a very rare statement that wasn't used much anymore. Severus apparently had no such training and was looking at his mother with confusion.

"Mum what-"

"Severus," Elieen turned to her child and he stopped speaking. Ah, so Severus indeed had no idea as to what Eileen was asking.

Evan was now extremely grateful to all those pureblood political lessons Michael had made him learn during the summer. He knew now that his response would either make him friend or foe to Eileen Snape.

"Knowledge is not what makes a man, nor a wizard, for they are both able. This ability given by the earth is one I use to maintain equilibrium," Evan held Eileen's eye contact. He didn't know where she stood on the whole Muggle thing, but seeing as how she had married one…

"Why work on maintaining an order when you could so easily flaunt power and make those who have less material possessions subservient to you?"

Evan raised an eyebrow, inside he was panicking. Why was she asking about material possessions? That had never been in any of the books nor any of the lessons Michael had given him. She seemed to understand his confusion and motioned, very slightly to Severus who was standing just a bit behind her.

Oh. She wasn't just asking about his political views but if he would be cruel to Severus just because… Jeez he had heard that witches were notoriously protective of their children…

"I have never been one to use my knowledge, nor the size of my vault, to categorize individuals." Eileen seemed a bit relieved and since she had stepped a bit out of the traditional words, Evan felt justified in doing so as well "Judge man not by what he holds, but by his actions."

"I'm glad we understand one another Mr. Michaels." The words were terse, but Eileen was smiling and looking as if a load had been removed from her shoulders.

"Happy to oblige, Mrs. Snape," Evan bowed to signal the end of their conversation and turned towards Severus as he stood.

"I'll see you later," Evan told Severus, who looked entirely bewildered by the interaction he had just witnessed.

"Mrs. Snape, Christmas, Happy" Evan said to her with an incline of his head, earning a smile and the sentiment returned from Eileen. Turning around he headed heading back towards Hogwarts, he had a feeling there was a conversation he needed to have with a certain nurse.

**HpHpHp**

"Madame Pomfrey?" Evan called out into the hospital wing.

"Mr. Michaels?" Madame Pomfrey's head poked out from the hallway that lead to her office, the confusion of seeing him was written plainly on her face. "Is everything all right?"

"Err, yeah. I just had a question for you, but if you are busy…" Evan trailed off.

"Oh, not at all. I had just finished fire-chatting with my sister and her family. Didn't feel too keen on traveling today," she didn't expand, there was no need as Evan knew why.

He followed her into her office and took a seat in his chair. While it was not technically his, the wooden chair that had extra padding was the one he always sat in over the last month. It was just close enough to the fire that he never got too overheated and placed so that even when he was reviewing medical texts and Pomfrey was working on patient files behind her desk, he never felt like a student who was in the office due to misbehavior.

Madame Pomfrey waved her wand and her own chair levitated from behind and floated on over so it was situated across from Evan. She settled into her chair, before giving a glance back at her desk where a mug of steaming liquid, which Evan assumed to be tea, was.

"Would you like anything to drink?" Pomfrey asked.

"I'm fine thanks, still full from breakfast this morning."

With a nod Pomfrey once again waved her wand and her mug leisurely made its way into her outstretched hand. Warming her hands around the cup she took a small sip, before looking back to Evan.

"Now Mr. Michaels, what is it you wished to see me about?"

"Well, I think," Now that he was here, how was he supposed to ask Pomfrey about what he had felt. "That is, earlier today I met an individual and when we touched- I felt something."

"Could you perchance elaborate?" The question was asked clinically, not rudely.

Realizing that he would need to provide the mediwitch with more substantial information in order for her to help him, he took a breath and tried to work out how to articulate what had happened. "I met someone new today and as I shook their hand, a strange feeling sort of washed over me. As if human emotion as a wave was falling over me." Evan looked into the fire before looking back at Pomfrey who seemed to be hiding something.

"Could you describe the feeling in more detail?" Pomfrey looked concerned.

"It was," Evan closed his eyes and tried to remember the feeling, which had all but left his system by this point. "It was sad and hurt all over, and it knew it was going to continue but…"

"But, what?" Pomfrey asked gently.

"But I felt as if I could help, that I wanted to, that I should- what does that mean?" Evan opened his eyes and turned to look at the mediwitch.

"Mr. Michaels do you meditate at all?"

"What?" Well, that question came from nowhere.

The confusion must have been evident on his face for Pomfrey shook her head, as if to clear it before speaking again.

"Do you meditate?"

Evan looked over at her, Pomfrey seemed trustworthy and she didn't seem to be insinuating anything out of the ordinary. After all, he had read that many wizards practiced meditation for several different reasons.

"I do, nearly every morning,"

At this Pomfrey's eyebrows shot up. "Every morning? Whatever for?" She asked in quick succession. As if realizing a moment later she should not have asked him for specifics, she blushed and added "Sorry Evan, you don't have to answer that, but-"

"No, it's all right. I uh- well I lost my parents and before that I had some trouble with handling my emotions. My uncle thought it would be a good idea for me to start meditating so I could handle everything a bit better," Evan shrugged and looked back into the fire. That was kind of accurate.

"When did you start?"

"Around May," Evan didn't feel the need to clarify further.

"Mr. Michaels," Pomfrey took in a breath and Evan met her gaze. "When a wizard meditates, it helps him to ground his power. Through meditating, you not only acquire a piece of mind, but are able to become more aware of your magical abilities."

Evan gave a nod. He understood what she was saying; after all, his meditation was done so he could continue to occlude his mind.

"What you felt Evan is sometimes referred to as 'Healer's Perceptia'," Pomfrey looked almost giddy about the idea.

"When someone is in need of a healer, whether it be because of physical or mental ailments, their body and magic can communicate that need to someone who is hyper-aware, or able to help them."

"I think I've seen the term once or twice in my books about healing, are you saying that I have Healer's…"

"Perseptia. Well it appears as if you are developing it. Did you feel anything else besides just the pain?"

"I wanted to help," Evan admitted quietly. "I knew they would not accept it, but I felt like I had to do something to stop some of the pain."

It was quiet for a bit.

"Evan, I am trying not to pry here… However, it usually takes months of specific training to develop perceptia, it took me at least three, and I was in the training program at St. Mungos. Do you have a specific… desire to heal someone; something that is driving you towards the healing profession?"

"Uh," Evan turned away. He felt it wouldn't be appropriate to say that he had travelled back in time 30 years to meet his parents and save Severus Snape.

Instead he said, "That may be a possibility."

Pomfrey eyed him warily "Your reasons are your own, but you should feel comfortable in sharing them with me,"

"I'm just not ready to talk about it yet," Evan looked away. He hoped that by saying this, Pomfrey wouldn't pry, and assume that he 'just needed time' as was assumed by many of his year mates when trying to talk to an adult about something that was bothering them. He even remembered needing time before, when he was not yet comfortable talking to Dumbledore about things. Teenage angst apparently did have its uses.

"I understand." They were quiet for a moment, the only sound was the crackling of the fire. "Well I believe its time I gave you a new book, don't you Mr. Michaels?"

Evan looked up as Pomfrey gave him a smile. She stood and wandered over to the bookcase beside her desk.

"I know I kept it somewhere around here," she mumbled as she knelt on the ground, looking through the various titles.

"Aha!" She grabbed a thick brown text from somewhere along the bottom row. She spoke while standing "I hadn't planned on even giving you this until next year, but if you sensed something this early, it most likely means you're ready." she walked over and passed him the book.

Evan took the offered book and read the title silently, _Perceptia in Early Healing_.

"The book will teach you about how to use the perceptia correctly. If you were to be unconsciously using it all the time, it could make touching other people, even if by accident, near unbearable." Pomfrey explained as Evan flipped through the book.

"How could meeting a stranger set this off though?" Evan asked as he closed the book and looked up at his mentor.

Pomfrey shook her head and leaned against the desk. "I'm not sure. Perhaps if… the person you met had been in an environment where they encountered mental or physical trauma on a somewhat regular basis, but never received treatment... it could result in the subconscious magic crying out to yours."

"Why mine?"

"Mr. Michaels, you have been studying healing. Your magic is a part of who you are-"

"-of course." Evan had read about this in many of the books Michael had had him read over the summer. It was something purebloods learned as children, even if they too forgot it at times. "Even if you are not aware, your magic is picking up the material as well as your conscious brain and knows-"

"-sometime before you do Mr. Michaels. Correct. You want to become a healer and as I am sure you are aware, your magic is growing with you in this respect."

"So I can take this as a sign that my healing is a smart choice for my life," Evan gave Pomfrey what he hoped was a cocky teenage-boy grin.

"So it would seem," Pomfrey smiled back. "Was there anything else I could help you with?"

"No, this should be great,"

"I shall see you again when we resume our lessons on the Saturday after term begins," Pomfrey stood up as Evan did the same.

Evan knew better then to ask the teacher for lessons during break, after all it technically was her break from being a nurse as well. Even though she had said that once you are in the healing profession you never really have a day off, it becomes a part of who you are.

As Evan walked back to his common room, he realized that he was kind of okay with that.

HpHpHp

Evan spent his Christmas in the common room reading about his new camera and starting the new book on perceptia Madame Pomfrey gave him. He was interrupted from his reading by Severus entering the common room.

"Hey," Evan took his feet off the coffee table and stretched into a normal sitting position. "How was the day with your mum?"

"It was quite a festive outing," Severus's voice was neutral, but his features were strange as if he was trying to conceal excitement yet remain indifferent at the same time.

"She seems nice," Evan wasn't sure what was causing the strange tension that seemed to exist between them at the moment.

"You two seemed to get along," he retorted with a slight sneer.

"We understand each other," Evan said with a shrug, while inside he was fretting, trying to figure out the base for Snape's strange behavior.

"So it would seem," Snape fidgeted with the outside of his robe.

"Dinner in the great hall is in an hour, do you want to-"

"I am going to go rest until dinner," Snape interrupted and went up to the room without another glance in Evan's direction.

Severus, didn't seem mad earlier this morning, and the attacks would upset him, sure, but it seemed to be more than that. His book on Perceptia lay forgotten in his lap as he stared into the fire.

**HpHpHp**

Dumbledore waited until everyone was seated at dinner before he made the announcement. "The unfortunate victims of the previous evening's attacks have been made public. There were only three wizards who have passed: Rudolph Cogden, Missy McLehan, and Sephir Salim. The rest were muggles whom, if you wish to know, will be printed in the Prophet tomorrow morning. Let us have a moment of silence for those who have left us for the next realm," Dumbledore bowed his head, and the rest of the table followed suit.

Snape seemed to un-tense a bit at the announcement, but was acting much more like Evan remembered him acting when he had first arrived at Hogwarts.

After the remnants of dinner dishes disappeared, Christmas Crackers appeared in their place. "I believe now it is time for some festivities to lighten the mood." Dumbledore said, and Evan swore the twinkle in his eyes was partially forced.

Evan went to reach for his own, and remembered as he grasped the wizarding cracker they were not widespread until halfway in the 1980's, and being raised in a pure-blood household…

"Severus what is it?" Evan held out the object in his hand.

CRACK!

Evan had the good mind to jump and look to his right, where the source of the noise came from, to see a poof of glittering silver smoke and several white mice appear on the table.

"It is a Wizarding Christmas Cracker," Severus gave by way of explanation.

By this time there were several cracks echoing in the Great Hall.

"What is that?" Evan asked, making sure his face was etched in confusion.

"It is muggle tradition that has seeped through recently," Severus offered.

"Which would explain why I don't know about it," Evan pointed out.

Snape rolled his eyes. "Here, you hold one end and I hold the other and we pull," Snape grabbed the other end of Evan's cracker and the two pulled until-

CRACK!

Glittery-green smoke puffed out of the cracker along with two turtledoves.

Once Evan finished watching the birds fly up into the enchanted ceiling, he helped Severus with his cracker and laughed when Snape received an ugly orange bowler hat, which appeared in a cloud of pine scented green smoke. The distaste for the accessory was clearly written all over his face.

After the smoke from the poppers had cleared, Christmas pudding and other desserts appeared on the table along with some of the most delicious hot chocolate Evan had had in a while. Soon people started to leave from the table, Evan and Snape collected their goodies from the other crackers and Evan made sure to thank Dumbledore for hosting as well as being able to attend.

Evan figured that Snape's mood would at least have been cheered by the excitement at Christmas dinner, instead the other boy seemed more sullen than before. The walk back to the Slytherin dorms was tense, and filled with the excited chatter from the first and second year Slytherins who were chattering loudly in front of them about the whole affair.

The two kids were in separate years and apparently were nowhere near sleep, so the older boys passed them and went straight up to the fifth year boys room, leaving the common room to the younger ones.

The gift wrapping from earlier that morning had been cleared and the elves had out their gifts in neat piles next to their trunks at the end of their beds. Evan sat on his bed, placing his prizes from the Christmas Crackers next to him. Snape was on the floor looking through his trunk for something.

"Dumbledore said at dinner that no students had been killed in the attack-" Evan started, figuring Snape was probably still worried about Lily.

"Evan I am aware of that fact, seeing as how I was located at the same dining area you were this evening," Severus snapped.

"I know," Evan said, trying not to lose his patience, which by this time in the day was wearing thin. "I'm just worried, you seemed a bit off today."

Snape slammed the top of his trunk shut and stood, glaring at Evan.

"Well, I apologize for the inconvenience of my being troubled about the fact that muggles and muggle borns and anyone with less than pure blood according to this new dark-lord, will be prosecuted and essentially slaughtered by his hand if they do not behave correctly, according to him! I unfortunately, do not have the privilege of being a pure-blooded pompous arsehole who doesn't have to worry about that sort of thing-"

Evan felt his jaw drop.

"Severus, you can't possibly think that I don't care about what happened-"

The sneer that Evan had not seen directed towards him in such a long time was currently playing on his face. "What else could I think?!" Snape threw his arms up in apparent frustration.

What with you parading around and acting as if everything was fine! Not to mentions that conversation with my own mother! Then tonight at dinner?! I swear, nearly half the table thought that-"

Evan regained control of his bearings and glared at Snape, causing the other boy to stop his rant. How could Snape think such a thing?

"Do you forget that my parents are part of those whom are already considered dead," he said quietly.

Apparently Snape had, for he shut his mouth quickly and dropped his hands, avoiding Evan's gaze.

"I-" the boy stuttered.

Evan shook his head, which was essentially futile seeing as how he was no longer in Snape's line of vision.

"Maybe some of us have had to learn how to have a better handle on their emotions."

Evan made sure to pick up his belongings with extra care as he made his way over to his trunk, seething. How could Severus think so low of him! He needed a run or something that would stop him from yelling at Snape for being such an arsehole and stomp out of the room, which is what his actually 15 year old self would have done. Instead, he focused on gathering the items needed for getting ready for bed.

"Evan... I…" Something in Severus' voice made Evan stop and look up at the other boy.

Severus collapsed onto his bed ungracefully and set his fidgeting hands in his lap. "I forgot. You continually appear to be sure of yourself, and I was unaware that, well more thought that if by staying true to the pureblood manners was a way of supporting him, I just" Severus took in a deep breath and shook his head "Never mind, it appears my mind has over thought some things."

"What else, Severus?" Evan gently prodded, walking over and sitting next to the other boy.

"I was of the idea that-" Evan set his hand to rest on Severus' forearm in what he hoped was a re-assuring gesture. "due to my inability to properly display my bloodline in my own outward traits, your desire to associate with me would decrease, as it would bring down your own name. Seeing as how you are unaware of-"

"Oh, Severus," Evan cut the other boy off with his words and a light pressure added from his hand as the meaning of that first sentence caught up with him.

The other boy's embarrassment was given away physically by the light patches of pink that appeared ever so lightly on his cheeks.

"I told your mother, and I'll tell you- money, social status-including bloodlines-, those things don't matter to me."

Severus took in a breath and looked at Evan with the beginnings of a guilty smile. "My behavior has made seem like a twat all day, hasn't it?"

"Ya think?" Evan asked, removing his hand from Snape's forearm and lightly slapping the boy up-side the head.

"I-"

"It's all right, Severus." Evan stood and began walking towards his trunk, pausing just before opening it to look back at the boy who would one day become a most hated professor, to a man he admired, who was now his… friend. Yes, somehow in trying to become Severus Snape's friend, the opposite had happened.

"Don't worry Severus, it will take a lot more than a new Dark Lord rising to power for me to stop being your friend," Evan smirked over at his friend, who seemed to be recovering from his embarrassment.

Severus rolled his eyes. "No need to get all sentimental on me, Michaels." Snape said dryly, but his amusement was evident through his smile.

_To be continued…_

Right, so sorry about the shortness of this one! Finals are coming up and hopefully I should be able to have a longer chapter out next time!

Please review if you want to give me smiles, which will be nice during these study crunch times!

-BongoMonkeys


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: It seems I have been doing a lot of apologizing here recently. So sorry again for the delayed update and thanks to everyone who wished me luck on exams! I didn't do as well as I had hoped(though my friends call me a perfectionist and 3 A-'s and 2 A's should be fine.. but I'm hoping this next semester will be better!

Lots of thanks to **Siri** for betaing(along with dealing with my random messages) and **Ginji** for doing some last looks(and dealing with my incessant picking of her brain)! More responses at the end :).

-BongoMonkeys

_A Chance to Live_

**Chapter 13**

The rest of the winter break passed by without incident, and the boys mostly occupied their time with games and reading. Evan made his way through his healing books and Severus the Oscar Wilde book, which he read slowly, as if he were analyzing each individual word. Before either boy knew it, it was the fourth of January, a chilly Sunday night that found Severus and Evan outside the Great Hall waiting for Lily. The din of chattering students and shuffling footsteps signaled her approach before the mob of students came in sight.

The doors to the castle creaked opened and a mass of black cloaks began approaching the Great Hall. Thankfully, it wasn't long before Lily found them.

"Severus, Evan!" Lily called as she scooted her way through the crowd of students.

"Lily," Severus openly smiled at her and the two friends re-united with small hug. Evan was only slightly surprised when Lily turned to him and he too received a quick embrace.

"How was your break?" She asked as the three of them walked towards one of the classrooms to catch up a bit before dinner.

Severus looked at Evan as he replied, "Pretty uneventful for the most part, except me repeatedly beating Michaels here in chess,"

Evan made an indignant noise and the three laughed, making Evan wonder when being around the two of them had become so easy.

After dinner, Severus went to go meet with his club, which confused Evan. Severus seemed so adverse to dark arts, and then the whole incident at Christmas but…

He cleared his mind. Now was not the time to be thinking that. Since he had mastered the invisibility charm right before break he had been dying to try it out with students still milling about the halls, to see if he could hold the charm while there were actual crowds of people in the corridors.

Once he had parted ways with Severus he headed towards the common room, only to veer off into one of the less used corridors to throw on the charm. After making sure the charm was in place, he set off to go to one of the upper levels when he heard a familiar angry voice emanating from the back of the corridor. Old Gryffindor curiosity led his feet closer to the noise.

"- from the truth, Sirius!" A voice, which was spoken at a normal volume, insisted.

"Keep your voice down!"

"Why should I? You're the one who followed me down here, you could be the one cornering me!"

"As if I would attack my own brother!"

The only person Sirius would call his brother would be Regulus… Evan peeked his head around the corner to see the shadowy shapes of the two brothers.

"You seemed like you might this holiday-"

"Our family is wrong Reg!"

"What about!?"

"They're going to start following that weirdo!" Sirius whispered.

"Mum has some extremely old views, views which are part of-"

"You really think he's going to stick to our traditions! You heard what Rodolphus was implying!"

"I think you're reading way too much into this," Regulus shook his head.

"Bella has always been off, but now?! Do you really think that Saraon died of natural causes?!"

"Stop!"

"Reg you love all creatures! How could you stand by someone who so obviously had someone kil-"

"You have no proof!" Regulus' hands balled at his sides. "All of you Gryffindors are the same! You get some crazy idea into your head and fester about until you can't even see the truth until it's slammed into your face! Now if you excuse me, I have somewhere I have to be," Regulus turned the corner, placing him in Evan's line of sight.

"Regulus, don't go- you know what they are all going to be," Sirius called as he tried to catch up with his younger brother.

"You may turn your back on our family, but I won't,"

"What about me, you'll turn your back on me?"

Regulus turned around. "You were the one who announced you were never coming back. In front of the whole family! Don't even try to guilt me with something like that Sirius!"

Regulus turned back towards Evan and stalked right past him.

Evan turned around in time to see Sirius punching the wall with an aggravated cry. Sirius had been a dick to him the whole entire time he had been here, so why now did this feeling of empathy and need to reach out to comfort the other boy appear?

He really didn't have time to think about it as he had already cancelled his invisibility charm and was walking towards Sirius, who turned at the sounds of footsteps approaching.

"Michaels, what do you want?" For once Sirius sounded tired.

"Your hand is bleeding, let me see,"

Sirius took his hand closer to him, as if Evan would make the wound worse.

"What do you care? I know James seems to think you pose no threat-"

"What threat could I possibly pose?"

"Aren't you late for your little training meeting too?"

"I don't go to those," Evan shook his head.

Sirius narrowed his eyes. "Why do you want to help me?"

Evan shrugged, he didn't know why either, minus any future association they may have. "Remus is kind of my friend and your one of his best mates…"

"So for Remus' sake?"

"Do you really think it would be a good idea for you to go back towards the main area of school with a bloodied hand when you're leaving Slytherin territory?" Evan pointed out.

Sirius conceded and slowly held his hand out to Evan.

Evan took the hand in both of his, and the second his skin came into contact with Sirius', he knew half the reason he wanted to go and help the other boy. The persceptia. He had been reading, but now, holding a fresh wound in his hands he could feel the slight pull and Pomfrey and the book were right. The meditating was helping to make feel the magical pull much easier, but at the same time he would need the mediation so he could control when and how much he felt the pull.

The other half was still just an odd sense he couldn't quite pinpoint.

Trying to tune out the pull that wasn't healing, Evan focused his attention to the hand.

"I don't think you've broken anything, just tore some of the skin and bruised it a bit," Evan didn't look up, which is probably good, for if he did he would have seen confusion written all over Sirius' face.

Evan pulled out his wand, and slowly letting some of his magic through his shields murmured one of the most basic healing spells "_Episkey,_"

He watched in fascination as the skin started to repair itself slowly, leaving no cuts. "Scourgify," The blood cleaned itself off, leaving only the bruising; which was evident to Evan through the perceptia and the slight purpling of the skin.

"There you go," Evan let go of his hands and stood up. "I fixed the cuts, but you're on your own for the salve needed for the bruises. Just tell Pomfrey you slammed a door on it on the train or something,"

Sirius was looking at him with something akin to wonder.

"James was right, there is something off about you."

"Huh?"

"You make no sense."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't understand you Gryffindors anymore than you understand me."

"Right, because Slytherins just go about helping the sick, like lost little Hufflepuffs," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"No, but we may ask for favors in return," an idea sprung to mind as Sirius' expression turned skeptical.

"Just lay off Remus for hanging out with me, he's got enough to worry about." Evan smirked and turned the corner and hastily applied his invisibility charm, just in time to see Sirius dart around the corner.

"Bloody Slytherins, think they know everything," Sirius rubbed his hand as he gazed around the corridor.

Even could not help the smirk of triumph grace his features as he strolled back towards the Slytherin Common room, his want for wandering the castle abated for the moment. He cancelled the charm as he neared the door and strolled through the slightly smaller than normal mass of people in the common room. Once he got into his room he was surprised to see only J.D. there.

"Hey Michaels,"

"Hey, J.D., where is everyone else?"

"Nott said something about the library and Severus and the others went to the meeting. Why aren't you there?" J.D. seemed sincerely confused.

"I want to be a healer," Evan said as he took off his school cloak and laid it on his bed.

"So?"

"So, aren't they studying spells and whatnot?" Evan asked as he took out a school book and sat at his desk. This apparently seemed like an open invitation to come and sit on the edge of Evan's bed.

"Yeah, but what's that got to do with healing?"

Evan raised an eyebrow at the other Slytherin.

"You've been hanging around Severus too long."

Evan rolled his eyes and took out some parchment.

"But really, aren't spells used in healing?" J.D. pressed on.

"Yes, but analyzing defensive spells and healing spells are completely different," Evan said slowly. J.D. should know this. Nearly every pureblood kid grew up knowing the information. "Why aren't you down there?"

J.D. shrugged and kicked his feet. "My dad never really taught me all that pureblood manner stuff and Mulciber thinks I would probably embarrass myself this time. I asked why Severus is there if that be the case, and he said Severus is clever enough and knows enough to not be bothered. Even thought they know he's just there to learn about spell making," J.D. rambled on.

"You're not pureblooded?" Evan asked surprised, tucking the information J.D. had revealed about Severus for a later date.

"Yeah," J.D. seemed confused. "I thought you knew. My dad was half pure and half mixed blood. My mom was pureblood though. She died when I was a baby."

"Oh, sorry I didn't know," Evan cleared his throat. "Traditionally when there have been wars in the wizarding world, or times of conflicting ideals, healers stay notoriously neutral. Once they take the healer's oath, they have agreed with their magic to help any sick witch or wizard they may find, so when and if a war starts…"

"Healers stay out of it, because it's part of the profession?"

"Essentially, yes."

"And the opposing sides are okay with that? They don't try to take out the hospitals?" J.D.'s genuine curiosity was annoying but oddly endearing.

Evan shook his head. "It has happened a couple of times, but both sides respect healers enough not to mess with Hospitals, generally.

"So you just be a healer and you're protected?"

"Not necessarily, your magic has to agree to become a healer. There has to be the desire to work in the profession in order to take the oath."

J.D. made a small noise to show his understanding, before he started talking again. The boy wasn't very good at staying silent for extended periods of time. "You're awfully clever about all this stuff."

"What stuff?" Evan asked. J.D. was also not very good about being clear.

"The whole social system stuff, like how to act and everything."

Oh, that. Evan shrugged. "Just grew up with it I suppose," More accurately I had to study it non-stop for three months straight.

"Yah, but you know why?" When Evan didn't respond quickly, J.D. elaborated more. "It's like you know the rules but you also understand why they are there. Most of them don't."

The sound of the room door opening saved Evan from having to answer any further questions.

"You would not believe the audacity of Ravenclaws!" Nott announced as he stalked in, hurling his bag on the floor before he started rifling through his desk.

"Did they take your spot again?" J.D. asked.

"No, but they set up some odd study group right by my usual spot," Nott huffed as he pulled out a fresh scroll of parchment and took a seat at his own desk. "Which really isn't a problem until they start trying to get me to answer questions for them."

J.D. took this as an opening to start talking across the room to Nott about what kind of questions they were asking and suggested that Nott could have just given them slightly incorrect information in retaliation for interrupting his revision time.

Tuning out his classmates, Evan wondered about the information he had learned. If everyone knew Severus was going to the meetings just to learn, why did they allow it? Not to mention how much Severus seemed to hate the division of people based off pureblood ways. Why would he continue to associate with a group that everyone seemed to know was going to start following the new dark lord? It just didn't make sense, and the two of them weren't close enough that Evan could ask why, were they?

Evan held back a groan and decided that any further thoughts on the subject would be best left to mull over when he was alone. Nott and J.D. were looking expectantly at him.

"Sorry, did I miss something?"

"Did you see how MacDonald kept looking over at our table during the feast?" J.D. asked, with a knowing grin, leaving Evan to wonder when the subject changed from school to girls.

"No...Was she?" Evan responded slowly. He was never particularly good at the whole 'girl' conversation.

"I'd have to say that 6th year Hufflepuff is also quite obvious," Nott theorized.

"It is hard to be more obvious than a Gryffindor, but I think you may be right. He's half-blood isn't he?"

Nott snickered. "Must be having some kind of strange conflicted muggle feelings about it."

"Even I'm not that ignorant about traditions," J.D., sighed with exasperation.

Evan was officially lost in this conversation, but he couldn't really ask what precisely what they were talking about.

"Yes, but the real question is if either one of them are going to do anything about it," Nott reasoned.

Evan nearly asked 'do anything about what' when someone walked in and asked just that.

"Oh hey, Severus. We were just talking about how obvious MacDonald is," J.D. explained.

"And that 6th year Hufflepuff," Nott added, because really, how could one forget?

Severus put his things down on his own bed, but instead of sitting at his desk, he came and plopped down on the ground between the boys and leaned against the bedpost.

"You are questioning which one of them is going to approach?" Severus asked.

After an affirmation, Severus gave a small snort. "You are both incorrect in your bets, it was Antein."

This seemed to amuse Nott and J.D. greatly.

"Going behind her friend's back, how very un-Gryffindor of her."

"It was a bit droll."

Evan was now positive he was missing something.

Mulciber and Ganter stumbled back into the room and Evan took the chance to go ahead and go to the bathroom while the rest of the boys spoke about Merlin knows what.

"_Dark Mark Appears in Kingsmill!"_

Announced a headline at Tuesday morning's breakfast. Apparently, a busload of people returning from a church restoration had been attacked by Death Eaters the previous night. Thirteen muggles and two muggleborns died in the attack. The muggle driver survived only long enough to tell Ministry officials that he saw men in cloaks and masks coming towards him before the explosion happened. The paper added that the muggle media was blaming the IRA for the attack.

Evan wondered if Voldemort took issue with muggle religions, or if the church bus was a random target. Evan tucked the thought away incase it became important later. He shook his head and passes the paper to Severus, who had been peering at the front page ever since Evan had received his copy.

Evan poked at his breakfast, allowing himself to think behind his shields for just a moment, why the fates had sent him here. It wasn't really feeling all that different from the time he had just left, everyone murmuring softly to the members of their various cliques.

"We better start heading to potions," Evan muttered to Severus who looked up from the paper and nodded.

The two got up and joined the trickle of students beginning their trek down to the dungeons.

"Friday's a big day for you, Severus!" Mulciber announced from behind them as he slung an arm over Severus' shoulders.

Evan raised an eyebrow in speculation. Severus really didn't welcome the touches of anyone besides Lily.

"The occasions you are hinting towards is not worth a large ruckus, Franz," Severus sneered in his way that meant while he wasn't happy, he wasn't terribly upset either.

"Always so shy about everything Severus," Mulciber chuckled. "After Friday, you are officially one year away from being an adult."

"Not everyone is counting down the days until they are 17."

"I can't wait till I can finally apperate," J.D. chimed in.

Evan made a silent comment about how it wasn't really all that it was cracked up to be.

The Slytherins made their way into the potions classroom, chattering about the excitement of turning 17. Evan couldn't help but wonder for what specific reasons Mulciber and Ganter wanted to be 17. He had a suspicion that at the moment, Voldemort was still not accepting full-fledged members into his organization until they were 17. With a wry smile Evan mused that Mulciber really wouldn't have to wait too much longer to join the Dark Lord.

_**HpHpHp**_

"Happy Birthday Severus!" Lily announced as she thrust a rather flat, yet lumpy looking package at Severus.

The three were sitting at a small wooden table late on Friday in the kitchens. His own clever idea, if Evan could say so himself. The only other students likely to know how to enter it were the Marauders, and the house elves would probably trip over themselves to make sure they were fed.

"Thank you, Lily," Severus accepted the flat package and gave her a quizzical look.

"It might be more than you were expecting," Lily flashed a mischievous smile. "Be careful with it."

Severus looked down at the package and undid the wrapping to reveal a pair of jeans that looked like they came from some 1970's music video.

"Thank you Lily, though they look-" Severus pulled the waist up and looked down at what the jeans had been covering.

"No!" The black haired teen looked over at his redheaded friend with surprise.

"I know, you can say it," She answered, looking smug.

"When?!" Severus picked up the flat package the jeans had been covering and began reading it.

"Over Christmas break, it came out in the beginning of December," Lily said excitedly.

"Have you listened to it yet?!" Severus asked.

"And cheat on you like that?!" Lily asked aghast.

To Evan's surprise, Severus laughed and got up to give Lily a huge hug, a kind he had never seen the other boy give. Lily laughed as she returned the embrace.

"Err, what is it?" Evan couldn't help but ask.

"Look," Severus turned the side he was looking at towards Evan.

It was white, with some kind of emblem on the front and blue scrawl below that read: _A Night at the Opera_.

From this angle, Evan saw it looked like an old record album, and was about to comment until he remembered how wizarding records looked.

"What exactly is it?" He asked, playing dumb.

"Oh," Severus seemed to realize his friend had probably never seen this bit of muggle technology. "It's a record."

"Severus has loved this band since his mom bought one of them on the sale rack a couple of years ago, and they are just starting to get popular," Lily explained.

"It seems the world is finally wising up to the brilliance that is their music."

"We'll have to sneak into the instrument room this weekend."

Severus nodded in agreement and set the record down reverently. "The jeans truly would have been enough Lily."

"Oh pshh," Lily shushed him with her hand.

Lily and Severus turned to him and Evan picked up his own gift, feeling a bit foolish having to try and give Severus something after _that_.

"Happy anniversary of birth," Evan nearly mumbled as he passed Severus the new phials and jars he had ordered. The idea that it was a completely cliché gift to give a future potions master was still gnawing at him, as he caught Lily's eye. She smiled reassuringly.

"Evan, wow," Severus breathed as he pulled out a jar for closer inspection. "These containment jars are truly of a high caliber."

"I know how much you enjoy potions. I thought this way, you could, you know, be able to experiment a bit more. There are enchantments to help with preservation of different ingredients on the jars- from dry to liquid," Evan babbled.

Severus looked reverently at the jars and looked as if he wanted to say something, but decided against it. He may have thought that the jars were too much, but fortunately for Evan, in pureblood culture if someone contributed to your preferred choice in education it was considered incredibly rude to try and turn the gift down.

"Thanks Evan," Severus smiled as he put down the jar.

"You are most welcome." Evan replied, confused by the simultaneous feelings of happiness that Severus had liked his gift and the odd sense that he was missing something by not receiving the same thanks Lily had been given.

_**HpHpHp**_

Evan took a deep breath in as he sank deeper into his meditation. Today was February 14th. Valentine 's Day. A day which was actually a wizarding holiday that claimed romance between magic folk was much easier to feel at the time when winter was ending and spring would soon begin.

Voldemort had been busy the last month, several disappearances and minor attacks had been in the paper nearly three times a week. This somehow had not stopped Dumbledore from letting the children of Hogwarts go into Hogsmeade on the actual day of Valentines, seeing as how it fell on a Saturday anyway.

Although there was a sense of foreboding in the air, Evan had had one of his most classic teenage moments with Lily and Severus when the three of them finally snuck into the music room to listen to the record and work on homework.

It took Evan nearly half the record to figure out they were listening to Queen, and when Bohemian Rhapsody came on towards the end, it had proved rather difficult to refrain from singing or even humming along. He didn't know many muggles who hadn't at least ever heard of the song in his time.

Of course, he had tried to play the part of pureblood well and marvel aloud at the ways the muggles were mixing the instruments in ways that wizards had yet to.

They ended up spending Lily's birthday in the same room listening to a different music record. Evan had had no idea that Severus Snape, menacing formidable opponent in all black was, in actuality, a music fanatic of the glam rock variety. The reading made sense, but the image of Severus in one of those get-ups made Evan giggle.

As Evan breathed out of his mediation, he was sincerely glad of his avoidance of the opposite sex that this Valentines would at least be spent in the company of friends without the worry of reporters and emotional girls.

_**HpHpHp**_

"I don't see why Severus had to go and get a book," Lily grumbled as the two of them waited just outside the gates for Severus.

"He takes one with him everywhere," Evan reasoned.

"True," Lily conceded and looked down as a couple passed by them giggling and holding hands.

"Not a fan of public affection?" Evan asked with an amused grin.

"No, I mean it's not that-"

"That you're not on a date?" Evan asked confusedly.

"No! I got asked, I just didn't want to go on a pointless date- just because of the day," Lily explained.

"Oh, okay."

"It's just… weird," Lily looked around hesitantly.

"I think there are two different conversations happening here."

Another group of couples walked by and Lily gestured to them.

"I guess I'm just not used to seeing it, not that I'm against it or anything!" She explained.

"A little help would be appreciated."

"Oh," Lily blushed a bit. "I just, well it's strange to see well… same sex couples," she leaned closer as she whispered the last part very quickly.

"Oh," Evan began to connect the dots, looking ahead of them and saw that the first couple Lily had shied away from had been two upper year girls.

"I mean, when they came to explain the letter they told me and my parents it was completely normal and everything, and it doesn't bother me, it's just-"

"Weird?" Evan finished.

Lily nodded.

"Err," Evan wasn't really sure what to say. "It's mostly because witches and wizards find their partner, not just on looks and personality but on the way their magic interacts." Great. Now he was channeling Hermione by going into book mode.

"Really?" Lily's head perked up.

"Apparently when you find someone who complements your magic, you can tell through… physical romantic gestures."

"Oh," Lily looked down and Evan sincerely hoped the conversation was coming to an end. It really didn't seem appropriate for him to give the owls and kneazles talk with his mother, with him supplying the information.

"But, some magical people marry muggles," Lily pointed out.

"That's what most purebloods have against those relationships. They say you can't truly have a connection with a muggle, but those who have been in them swear that the connection exists."

Lily made a sound of understanding and Severus saved them from continuing the conversation by finally showing up.

Thankfully, as they walked down to Hogsmeade the conversation was strictly on the upcoming potions projects that would be due soon, making Evan wonder how, even with disappearances and violence in the news, he was able to relax and act like a normal teenager. It was mostly, he figured, due to the fact that he wasn't at the center of it all.

When they were at the less crowded part of Hogsmeade, just before Groves, they stopped as they heard someone calling Lily's surname.

"Evans!"

The trio turned and saw James Potter slow down from what looked to be a run, to a cocky stroll. Oddly, Remus was the only one who seemed to be with James at the time and was in no hurry to catch up with his friend.

"Potter, what do you want?" Lily asked and Evan couldn't help but notice she didn't seem as impatient as she had at the beginning of the year.

"Are you sure you didn't want to spend your day, with more," He looked from Evan to Severus, "Attractive people?"

"Not everything is about looks Potter," Sneered Severus.

"You would think so, Snivellus," Potter called back.

"Don't call him that!" Lily snapped.

Evan caught Remus' eye and even though the boy looked a bit worse for the wear, he shared Evan's look of exasperation.

"You can't seriously tell me you'd rather date that—slimy oily Slytherin instead-"

"Instead of you Potter?!" The anger in Lily's eyes was evident. "I can date whoever I want, and if I wanted to date Severus I would!"

Severus seemed embarrassed with the intent of not letting Potter know he was embarrassed which left his face tinged an odd pink with a peculiar sort of smirk on his face.

James sputtered.

As if to drive a point home Lily grabbed Severus' hand as she kissed him on the cheek. "Come on Severus, let's have a date in honor of Valentines!"

Severus turned red as the stubborn Gryffindor girl began to literally drag him away. He turned his head back to smirk at Potter who scowled, and when Evan caught his eye he seemed to look almost apologetic.

"You really are going about that the wrong way you know," Evan mentioned.

"What would you know Michaels! I haven't seen you date anyone!"

"That may be true, but I'm near Lily a lot more often than you are, and ambushing her while she's around her friends may not be the best tactic as it seems to well... get you nowhere,"

Potter made a rude gesture and stalked off.

Evan turned to Remus. "Wanna go get a butterbeer and lament on the idiocy of our friends?"

Remus let out a small laugh and agreed.

"So where's the rest of your group?" Evan asked as they walked.

"Sirius and Peter got dates," Remus' hands found their way into his cloak pockets.

"Huh," Evan truly wasn't surprised that Sirius had a date but… Peter?

"How about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, dateless…"

"Oh, well no one asked me," Evan shrugged as he absently kicked a rock.

"You're kidding!" Remus looked agape.

"Nope," Evan wasn't completely blind, he had seen that look in a couple of glances his way and had made sure he was never in an approachable place, the fact that he may have used his invisibility charm to get away seemed irrelevant.

"But-"

"What about you?" Evan interrupted.

"Me?" Remus shook his head. "I'm not feeling too well and same as you."

"It doesn't really bother me. I've had enough of false interest to last me for awhile."

Remus looked at him as if he was off his rocker. "False interest?"

"Ignore me," Evan smiled. "Let's get that butterbeer, my treat." Evan held the door open for Remus and followed the Gryffindor into the always crowded Three Broomsticks.

Passing tables filled with their peers, Remus and Evan found a table towards the front corner of the pub.

They talked about school and were in the middle of talking about DADA when Rosmerta came by to take their orders. Both boys ordered the signature drink and as Evan turned back to Remus, he seemed uncomfortable about something.

"Something wrong Lupin?"

"Er, well," he took a breath "This isn't a date, is it?"

Evan couldn't help his eyes bulge out. "I no- I mean it's not. I just thought you know friends-"

"Okay, no offense but you know, you're not really my type," Remus said with a cocky grin that wasn't often found on the shy boys face.

Evan laughed, "Nor you mine!"

Remus seemed to recover from his embarrassment but immediately looked uncomfortable again. "I think I'm going to go the loo real quick."

Evan nodded and laughed silently. A date with Remus? Talk about strange. He looked down at his watch and felt a sudden shift in the magic in his surrounding area and looked up to watch as a woman with crazy blonde hair in a deep red cloak plopped down in Remus' previous spot.

"Hello Harry Potter," the blonde smiled as she sat.

Harry looked in disbelief at the woman and then it hit him where he had seen her before.

"Lachesis, what-" Harry felt his eyes blink as he tried to comprehend his new table companion.

The fate laughed lightly. "Always so eloquent when it's just you."

"I was beginning to think I'd imagined meeting you all. I mean I can remember, but I can't…" somehow being in the forceful nature of fate rendered one a babbling fool.

"Don't worry, you'll get over it one day," Lachesis seemed amused and annoyed about this.

"Uh, well er- what is it? Did I do something wrong?" Harry asked quickly.

"No, I'm just here to pass along a message."

"A message?"

"Just that, the way you remember things and the way incidents were described to you may not be what actually happens here."

"What does that mean?"

Lachesis laughed again. "Try not to worry Harry Potter, follow your mind and heart equally, they will lead you down the right path."

Lachesis stood back up and Harry felt the magic shift as she disappeared into thin air.

Remus and Rosmerta appeared at the table at the same time, with slightly confused looks on their faces.

"Here are your orders," Rosmerta placed the butterbeer and chips down and walked back into the center of the pub.

After the pub, Evan suggested heading to Zonkos, as it would most likely be one of the less crowded places due to the nature of the holiday. They were right, the shop wasn't deserted, but there were quite fewer occupants in the shop than there normally were.

As Remus was explaining to him what could happen if you mixed one of the dungbombs with ginger root, they heard their names.

"With Remus? I think you're seeing things Mary," Lily's voice reasoned.

"No, I swear Lily, I saw them! Evan and Remus were on a date in The Three Broomsticks," Lily's friend insisted.

Remus and Evan looked at each other and as they caught each other's eye, they doubled over on each other in silent laughter.

"What?" A new voice inquired.

There was a girlish 'eep'.

"Oh hello Snape, just telling Lily about the new couple. I um- I'll see you later Lily," Remus and Evan watched in amusement as Mary MacDonald dragged her date out of Zonko's rather quickly.

"I really wish you wouldn't scare my friends like that Sev."

"I have no idea as to what you are implying," Severus sniffed and moved.

"Really Sev. I mean it's gotten better since Evan, but really I have worried about you-"

"Precious Evan on a date with Remus," This time, Evan didn't laugh at the angry sneer in Severus' voice. What was he so upset about? Remus looked at Evan and gave him a sympathetic smile and a reassuring shoulder squeeze.

"Well we did kind of ditch him…"

"Yes, as you used me to-" Lily and Severus turned the corner and stopped.

Evan looked past Remus' face and saw Severus' face turn from mild annoyance to a full-fledged sneer.

"It appears your friend was right."

"What's _your_ problem?!" Evan was surprised, as was everyone else it seemed by the way Lily and Remus were looking at him, that he was the one who had spoken aloud.

Severus even looked a bit taken back. "Nothing, just surprised at your choice of company for the day."

"Do you have to dictate who everyone befriends or something?" Evan threw the dungbomb back into the pile. "I'll see you guys later."

Evan stalked out of the store trying to get a grip on his emotions. He was normally so much more controlled than that! But something in the way Severus continued to be so… judgmental about everyone else's friends was annoying. Cursing, Evan blamed the visit from Lachesis, maybe the shift in the magic has upset his shields.

"Evan, slow down!"

Recognizing the voice and not really wanting to talk to him, Evan continued to walk.

"Evan!"

Evan turned his head and noticed that Remus was nearly running to catch up with him, making the sick boy look even worse.

Taking pity on the werewolf, Evan moved to the side of the path, so they would be out of the way.

As Remus made his way over, Evan looked in the sky and saw the shape of a nearly full moon and felt even worse.

"You really shouldn't run like that when you're sick," Evan commented as Remus caught his breath.

"Geez, Michaels what do you do? I don't think I've even seen James walk that quickly."

Even though it wasn't Remus' fault, being compared to his father seemed to strike a nerve.

"What is it Remus?"

Remus stood and looked at him. "You really shouldn't be so hard on Snape."

Evan blanched. "What?!"

"I think, besides Lily your one of the closest friends he's had." Remus started to walk back towards the school with Evan following.

"What do you mean?"

"I keep forgetting you're new here," Remus shoved his hands into his cloak pockets. "Snape, Lily and I got along pretty well in first year, but it was hard being friends with him _and_ James, Sirius and Peter. And well, I guess to him it looks like I probably chose them over him. Especially now with you and Lily and I revising together sometimes, I think that he's worried I'll take away his friend or something, and he doesn't really get along much with most of the other Slytherins. Well he did, but the ones he did get on with have graduated."

"So?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "He's incredibly insecure and is better at pushing people away than holding onto them."

"I don't understand why you are friends with them."

"James, Sirius and Peter?" Remus asked.

Evan nodded. "You just seem, more… down to earth about things than they are."

Remus sighed. "I know that they can be a bit on the loud side, but they're my friends and they…well they are really good about being so."

Evan had a feeling what that cryptic statement had meant. "You know that made no sense, don't you?"

Remus laughed. "I know, but it's one of those things that is hard to explain."

Evan decided to respect the other boy's privacy and change the subject, feeling almost guilty about the fact that he knew why Remus was so loyal to his fellow marauders.

_**HpHpHp**_

Evan was alone in the dorm room later working on his charms homework when Severus walked in. Was he supposed to be the one to acknowledge the other boy first? Or should he wait for Severus to talk. This whole thing seemed silly, so much for a Valentines without drama.

"I was instructed by Lily to not be so hard on friends and their choices of dating, I had also not realized your preference was wizards and-"

"Oh, it's not," Evan supplied quickly, trying to save Severus from any further embarrassment. "I just don't like people assuming things about me, without asking me about them first," A life in the public eye had perhaps made him jaded about rumors.

Severus raised an eyebrow as if confused about something. "I see. Well if I hear anymore seemingly interesting facts about your person I shall inquire with you directly next time."

Evan let out a small chuckle. "That would be much preferred, thanks," a smile accompanied the statement. Severus sent a tentative one back and the two began discussing the charms assignment.

As he watched Severus point out a highlight in the reading, a small part of him behind his shields marveled at how different his friendship with Severus was from Ron. Both boys were stubborn and incredibly insecure about their placement in the wizarding world, and while Severus seemed have a longer list of insecurities, it was much easier to discuss things with him and it seemed he didn't hold grudge for as long of time, and would listen to his side of the story. Evan sort of preferred it this way.

_**HpHpHp**_

The morning of Wednesday March 17th, was cool and crisp and most of Slytherin house was in good form, except one Severus Snape.

Evan wasn't sure, but as they made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast that morning Severus seemed even more quiet than usual.

"You feeling all right Severus?" Evan asked as the two made their way up the stairs.

"Huh? Oh yes, I am just fine," the boy snapped tiredly.

Evan raised an eyebrow. "I didn't see you come in last night and-" the two made their way into the great hall past some overzealous Gryffindors.

"You don't tell me everything that you do either," Severus snapped.

Evan grabbed the other boy's arm, stopping him from entering the Great Hall. "Severus, what's wrong?"

While the sullen, dark-haired teenager was not normally a morning person, Evan had learned from the Valentine's Day debacle that Severus really didn't lash out at his friends too often. In fact something had changed since then, and Severus had seemed almost more at ease around him, as if he wasn't holding something back.

Severus bit his lip, staring at the ground and made no move to pull his arm away. "I can't tell you."

"Severus I'm not going to judge you-"

"No really. Evan, I can't tell you." The other boy pulled his arm away, almost reluctantly and Evan followed Severus into the Great Hall.

Something was definitely up, Evan thought as he followed Severus to the Slytherin table, where everyone seemed to be discussing something.

Crap, what had Voldemort done this time?

The two sat at the table and J.D. immediately began talking.

"Have you guys seen the points this morning?" the black boy asked.

"Huh?" Evan looked over to the hourglasses and blanched. While he had not paid close attention to points, he knew that Slytherin had been in a close second behind Ravenclaw with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff following. Now however that was not the case.

Slytherin must have lost something close to 75 points as they were dead last in the running and Gryffindor was now in first.

Evan looked to the Gryffindor table where the Marauders had their heads bent down discussing something. Evan caught Remus' eye and the werewolf looked apologetic and slightly embarrassed.

Evan looked at Severus, the hourglasses and then back to Remus, who was now discussing something with a rather abashed Sirius.

_Oh._

Severus continued to poke at his breakfast, avoiding everyone's gaze more than usual.

Evan inwardly groaned, resisting the urge to throw his face in his hands. How could one comfort a friend about something you weren't supposed to know anything about?

_To be continued…_

So there is the next chapter, as always I truly do appreciate reviews and hope that the next chapter will not be as late!

Responses from 12:

mewtwosangel (Thanks! I try!), Rozze (I feel speshul :3), Ja495ck, millionstar, rusticheart, TearfullPixie, TwoSoulsEntwined (There may be more ;)), Mia Tun (I can't wait for those bits either :D), Crystal M. Key (Thanks ever so much for your lengthy review and I am thrilled you are enjoying the story! I am doing my best to try and have the story to not be like other time-travel ones.), Lassegatymailcom (Thanks I greatly appreciate it!), Tempest S(I Think so too!), Basil to Blithe, AlmondWithUnicornHair (Yay! I wanted it to be a steady awareness!), DTDY, sev's-sexy-mistress (Evan is oblivious, but he also has a lot of growing to do), Madrea Salazar Riddle (I am thankful to the review, but I am quite confused by as to what you mean by more 'Slytherin'. I would need a more cohesive definition in order to follow-up on this request/query), GoddessonmyKnees, lovebird17 (I look cute!Not-corrupted-yet!Sev), , BloodyRose90(I tried to get these out on time!), 13AkiraKuranXIII, debygoebel(Voldy just wants to celebrate too! Also I has no idea :P), KitElizaKing (He always is. I think Severus may have to hit Evan with a whole bookcase before Evan realizes his feelings), Azrael Jinsei (I'm working on it!), Bloody dawn (He so it, but hopefully that doesn't last too much longer), TheCatsMeow8562 (No joke, your review surprised me! I am so thrilled you are enjoying the story this much! I know its bad to say, but its reviews like those that helps light a fire under my butt), Ylterces A, Anamcara-Quinntanna (Your review was flattering and put a smile on my face. I would also like to happily admit that yes, there is already heaps of intentional foreshadowing in the story, I hope that doesn't sound to egotistical :P), bczeigler, Chronos guardian (Thank you! I truly always found it so odd to believe the way it happens in a lot of time travel stories that they meet and all of a sudden its romance and cuddles at once. It was that and some other themes that will show up that spurred me to write this fic. Thanks again for the review!), herbsandlemons (Are you speaking of the book he was first looking at in Groves when Evan surprised him? If so, it wasn't as deep as that, though that book will come into play later), Vampirecat1191 (Your words are too kind!), Sheankelor, TearfullPixie, saranya1555, MareG8, GoddessonmyKnees, Sophia, debygoebel, BloodyRose90, Bloody dawn, LIGHTNSHADOWS, TwoSoulsEntwined, Auelle, sarahabruce85.

Thank you all so much, you help the writing process with your questions and amazing words of support!

-BongoMonkeys

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